Secrets & Lies
by Benzol85
Summary: Would you turn to someone you work with if your marriage was on the rocks?
1. Chapter 1

Her eyes felt heavy; that was the first thing she remembered feeling as her eyesight tried to adjust to the dim darkness flooding the room.  
Nausea pervaded her body, unsettling her stomach and making her feel so weighed down.  
She honestly didn't think she could come into work that day…

Chris came into the staff room, immediately surprised to see Tom already in. "Wow. You're in early."  
He smiled softly. "Giving you a run for your money, am I?" He watched him sit down heavily on the chair next to him. "Good time off?"  
Chris smirked a little. "It would've been if I had someone to _share_ it with."  
"Aww…" Tom rubbed him down his back a few times. "You were on your _own_? What about spending it with your folks?"  
He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Things had gotten quite bad with them…they spent their time mostly apart."  
"Sorry to hear that, mate."  
"It happens." Chris gazed at him. "How about you? Yours couldn't have been much worse than _mine_."  
Tom stopped his rubbing. "Well, it was ok. Spent most of the time with the family, and then paid a visit to the in-laws."  
He nodded slowly. "You haven't seen Karen at all…have you?"  
"Well…no." He lowered an eyebrow. "She's usually in quite early."  
It was _his_ turn to look worried.  
"Is everything ok with you?"  
"I think…so." Chris felt a little weak and shaky. He'd hoped that the tension between him and Karen wasn't still present – in which case, that wouldn't be good if it _was_.  
"Chris, we're mates. If anything is worrying you, say so." Tom noticed him start to get up, and he placed a hand on his arm. "Please…"  
"I'm _fine_." He forcefully pulled his arm away. "Just let me know if she's going to be in or not."

Chris couldn't help but feel so weighed down; he found himself descend into a dreamlike sort of torpor from what had happened between him and Karen _weeks_ ago but he found it so hard to block it all out.  
He was so distracted that he failed to hear his door open and then close.  
"Chris?"  
His eyelids lost their heavy-lidded feeling and he snapped to, finding himself gazing up at Tom as he came in.  
"Are you sure everything is all right?"  
"Tom…" He inched himself away from his desk slightly, but stayed pretty much where he was. His muscles ached for some unknown reason. Probably from anxiety, was all he could put it down to.  
"I know when something bothers you. You go all quiet and secretive, then start hiding yourself away." Tom perched himself on a desk and crossed his arms over his chest.  
"I can't have you worrying the way you are, because that's when you'll start to make yourself sick."  
"_Nothing_ is wrong."  
He gazed at him, unconvinced. "Next time something bothers you, let me know. Ok?"  
Chris gazed at him hazily; he was sure he still felt tired from losing a few hours of sleep. He nodded slowly.  
"Good." Tom moved away from the desk he'd perched himself on. "Karen called in anyway. She won't be in – she'll probably be off for the whole week."  
"I-is she sick?" He didn't think he'd made her feel _that_ bad. And why didn't she call _him_? After all, he was the one who acted up if she wouldn't be in!  
"She wouldn't say, mate. She didn't _sound_ well, put it that way."  
He felt a _little_ bit better.

Karen could barely move herself out of bed; she could hear someone at her door, and she was completely unaware of how long she'd been asleep.  
Feeling the muscles in her legs ache and weaken, she answered the door.  
She was shocked to see _Chris_ standing there.  
"I know I'm the last person you want to see right now…" He started, as he noticed a blank expression casting itself across her features. "…But after hearing you weren't well, I had to make sure you were ok."  
"Why the sudden concern?" She placed a hand on her hip. "I'm not off because of what happened, if that's what's sent you over here."  
"No, I know." Chris felt that Karen was no longer hostile towards him, but he _was_ genuinely worried about why she was off. And why did she look so tired? "You wanna talk?"  
Karen came over slightly exhausted. "It's nothing you should worry about." She went to close the door, when he placed a hand on her wrist, pulling her back to him. "You don't have to worry about me or my private life, Chris, because everything is fine."  
"No, everything is _not_ fine, Karen. And I think I _should_ worry about you because look at what it's all doing to you." He protested, a protective shimmer present in his eyes.  
"What's made you take the whole week off?"  
"Chris, I…" She felt nausea settle in the pit of her stomach, and she tried to hold it back. "Please don't worry about me."  
"If it _is_ at all about what happened…I'm sorry."  
She smiled weakly. "I know you are and you don't have to apologise for that. I should've believed you. _Both_ Jess and yourself."  
"I couldn't hurt _anyone_." Chris swallowed hard. "But whatever's made you unwell…"  
"Go back to work." Karen pressed him. "Stop worrying yourself."  
"I don't have any more sets." He put to her firmly. "So I'm not leaving till you tell me what's made you sick."

Chris was led into Karen's lounge, and he positioned himself not too far away from her; he wanted to remain close to her, but not _intimately_ so.  
"I don't even know who put you up to coming here, to be honest." She closed her eyes as a wave of exhaustion swamped her.  
"_No_ one put me up to this, Karen." He insisted. "And _no _one sent me."  
"Good." She swept her bangs off her forehead.  
"I'm just _worried_ about you." He told her honestly. "Why didn't you call _me_ instead of  
Tom? I was already there and I act up in your absence."  
She gazed at Chris shakily. "Because I didn't want you to be annoyed with me about what had happened…I'd pretty much forgotten about it, but if _you_ hadn't…"  
"_Why_ would I be annoyed at _you_?" He asked, incredulously. "_None_ of what happened was your fault."  
"I didn't believe you."  
"So if this isn't about _that_…what _is_ it about?" He _desperately _wanted to know. He didn't care _how_ personal it was, as she'd told him a lot about what had gone on in her private life. After one incident that involved both of them, that couldn't have made their friendship become any less…could it?  
Karen placed a hand on his. "Chris, I appreciate your concern, but all you have to know is that it is _not_ about what went on."  
Chris flitted his gaze from her to the floor. He half-expected to feel _nothing_ from her subtle touch, but there was _something_ there that made him feel a little…warm.  
"Get yourself home." She smiled softly. "Get some sleep. You look like you've lost some."  
"So do _you_."  
"Nothing caffeine can't fix." She led him back to the front door, although she knew that he couldn't quite shake off that sceptic feeling he had.  
"Please don't do that." He pleaded with her. "That'll only make the anxiety and insomnia worse."  
Karen nodded dimly.  
"Just keep yourself warm…that's the best way of getting to sleep quicker." He suggested. "Are you likely to be better by the end of the week?"  
She smiled a little bit easier that time. "I _should_ be."


	2. Chapter 2

A week had gone by.  
Not hearing anything from Karen, Chris opened the door to the office, already seeing her sitting down behind her desk. "I didn't know you were in."  
She smiled softly. "Don't worry, I've pretty much fully recovered now."  
He frowned slightly. He didn't seem too sure that the bad feelings she'd had, had completely gone away. But he didn't want to _probe_ her any more about it.  
"So no issues while I was away, I take it?"  
"No…none at all." He positioned himself against the windowsill.  
Karen couldn't help but admire Chris's nicely proportioned figure; he was slim, but not overly skinny. The same went for his legs – long and slender, but again, not skinny.  
She could make out the firm muscle at his arms under his jacket, and she started to wonder how it'd feel under her touch.  
But it wasn't as if he would _allow_ her to touch him like that – heck, he might not even _like_ it. She kept herself behind her desk, happy to sit there and gaze at him.  
"If there was anything you wanted to talk to me about…" His voice came out concerned, losing its usual perkiness. "Don't feel like you can't. Because I'm always here."  
Karen smiled softly, feeling relieved from what he'd said. "And I'm extremely thankful for that, Chris."  
Chris's eyes bore a slight suspicion; he could sense there was something she wasn't telling him, and he wished she would just come out and say it. "I'd better go." He didn't want to leave her, for some unknown reason, but he knew he _had_ to.

Karen found her place flooded in darkness; she frowned at that. She was _sure_ she'd timed the lights for them to come on at a certain time.  
She was _very_ sure she made out a slight shadow in the darkness. "Charlie, is that you?"

Without warning, she felt her arms being levered backward and her body pushed up against the hall's wall.  
"You're back later than usual." A harsh voice threateningly came from behind her.  
"I-I had to work late." Karen protested. That _was_ the truth, and she didn't care if the owner of that voice needed anyone to back her up.  
"And there was me thinking you were seeing someone else." Their body was up against her back, their weight ramming her further into the wall. "Sure there isn't another special guy in your life?"  
"Y-yes…" She flinched as chills slid down her spine.  
"So who _is_ your special guy then?" Their voice almost turned into a snarl. "And this shouldn't be a trick question for _you_, Karen."  
"Y-you…" She felt relief wash over her as she was forcefully pulled away from the wall, only to be turned round and finding herself staring into a pair of hard, dark eyes.  
"Good girl."  
Karen shuddered a little from fright at what Charlie was going to plan next. She didn't even know what had made him turn into the animal he'd become, but she did not like it.  
She gasped when she felt something swipe her hard across her face.  
"And don't you _ever_ work late again without me knowing." He warned her ominously. "Or I'll do more than that next time."

Still in shock about what had happened, Karen was close to wanting to resort to spending the night sleeping in the lounge; she surveyed the tender, red streak across her cheek, hoping that it wouldn't turn into a bruise. Else Chris would notice it and demand to know what had happened.  
But she couldn't sleep with a violent husband or even put up with it for much longer.

Karen found herself drifting in and out of sleep the next morning; she was sitting back in her chair behind the desk, oblivious to what time it was or how long she'd been in that state.  
The door slowly opened, and Chris came in. He was startled to see her appear so exhausted. He knew she was never like that. "Rough night?"  
Her eyelids opened fully, flitting straight to him as he stood pretty much in front of her. "What makes you say that?"  
He smiled softly. "You look a bit worn out."  
Karen did not want him to survey her any further, for fear of him discovering something else that would bother him…  
"Did you get _any_ sleep at all last night, Karen?" Chris asked her, worry clearly there in his voice. He came closer, his gaze fixing itself on the dark circles under her eyes.  
"Couldn't get off to sleep that well, that was all." She lied. "Noisy neighbours again."  
He couldn't help but feel that there was something she wasn't telling him. "We've been over this before. If you want to talk about anything…"  
She gazed at him swiftly, knowing he was aware of something going on. He wasn't stupid. "Chris, have you not got any other sets this morning?"  
He leant against the windowsill, and folded his arms across his chest. "I know what you're playing at." He smirked.  
"I'm sorry, what…?"  
"You're trying to get rid of me." His vibrant blue eyes never lost their spark, as he gazed over at her. "I know there's something you're not telling me. What is it?"  
Karen shook her head. "You wouldn't understand…"  
"_Try_ me." Chris put to her.  
She took in his posture; he looked worried, but also defensive. She came over to him shakily, reluctantly placing her hands on his arms. He jolted at the contact, but it wasn't as though he _hated_ it – much the opposite. It made him relax and feel a little warm. "It's something I can't tell you. I'm sorry, I know this is worrying you, but please don't try to let it do that. It's not worth it."  
He quietly watched her open the door as if to make a point for him to go.  
"You'd better go."  
"But this is worrying me enough to see how it's affecting you." Chris protested. "Why don't you talk to me about it over our next break?"  
Karen shook her head dimly. "I can't do that, Chris…" She pulled the door open even wider.  
"I don't understand all the secrecy." He didn't like it when things were left open-ended. He was asking her questions, not in a demanding way, but she wasn't giving him any answers. No clues as to what was worrying her or what was making her lose so much sleep in one night.  
"It's better if you don't know." She told him slowly. "What you don't know won't hurt you."  
"That's silly." Chris narrowed his eyes at her. "And anyway, I'll only come back up here break time and _ask_ you."  
"Want a word of advice?" Karen asked him steadily. "Don't _ask_ me. Because I won't tell you."


	3. Chapter 3

Sure enough, break time soon came round.

Chris noticed Karen leaning against the windowsill – she didn't look to be well. "Is everything ok?"  
"I think so." She didn't seem sure.  
"You look ever so pale." He noted, getting her some water. "This might help if you're feeling sick."  
"Thanks, Chris." She took the glass from him, as his gaze kept itself on her, deeply worried. "I can't even concentrate that well because of this." She added, half-expecting him to probe her further about what was making her so tired and unwell.  
"Don't tell me you're thinking of working late again."  
"I…" Karen flitted her gaze to Chris swiftly. "How did you know?"  
He smirked. "I have a way of knowing." He came a little closer to her. "It's not good doing things like that. You'll end up burning yourself out."  
She gazed away shyly, feeling his gaze become softer and not as resolute. She knew he meant well.  
"And we can't have the head of the school burning herself out – can we?" He quipped.  
"Chris, I…" Karen felt a small smile start to coyly edge its way to the corners of her mouth from his teasing remark. She had to keep herself from staring at him any longer. There was no way _he_ had any special feelings for her, _how_ much younger was he compared to her? "What's the _real_ reason you're here?"  
"…Because we're on a break?"  
She gazed at him steadily, noticing he was leaning against the desk with his legs slightly spread apart, accentuating the slenderness of his hips. She found her gaze moving downward, and she _had_ to stop herself. _Chris does not feel anything for me, there's just no way that he does_, she told herself.  
"You know, this is going to sound _stupid_ coming from me, but…"  
Karen at last found that she could move her gaze straight into his eyes; she hadn't paid much attention to the vibrant shimmer they gave off in the daylight. They were almost mesmeric.  
Chris wasn't sure how to word what he wanted to say; it was _his_ turn to come over all coy, and he suddenly felt like he had butterflies in his stomach. How bad _could_ it be to ask your own boss out?  
She waited patiently for whatever it was he wanted to say, noticing how shy and bashful he'd become. She actually found it quite cute as a small blush appeared at his cheeks.  
"I-I was wondering if you wanted to come out for a drink sometime…?" He eventually managed to say.  
Karen suddenly felt like she couldn't move. Did Chris just…_ask her out_? Was it all just one big joke? She gazed over at him, noticing that no, he didn't seem to be treating it as though it was all some big joke and he looked deadly serious at her as he waited for her answer. He maybe appeared _shy_, but he was probably worried she would turn round and say no. "A-are you saying you want to take me _out_?"  
"W-well…I mean we're both friends." Yep, the butterflies were definitely not making it easy for him. "There something wrong with that?"  
"No. No, not at all…" Apart from the fact she was his boss, she couldn't see a problem with it. And what would _Charlie_ have to get jealous about if she simply lied and said that she was working late?  
"If there's a problem, I understand. But it's something we've never done before, and I just feel it'd be better for both of us if we did something like that."  
Karen smiled more easily. "I'd _love_ to."  
"_Really_?" Chris perked up immediately.  
"Sure."  
"O-ok." He gazed down at the floor. "Which night do you wanna go? I'm free whenever, so…"  
"How about _tonight_?"  
He wasn't expecting her to say _that_. "You sure that's not too short notice?"  
"Yes, it's fine. Charlie would only assume I'm working late like I did last night." _When I earned that slap he gave me, _she thought to herself, feeling the area where he'd hit her sting a little. She was thankful it didn't turn into a bruise.  
He smirked playfully. "I don't wanna get you into any trouble."  
"No, you won't. As long as he knows, there'll be no problem."  
"Ok." His voice sounded perkier. "I'll come back up here after work then."

The two of them sat together in a quiet corner of the bar; Karen found it hard to stop gazing over at Chris, taking in the tempting vibrancy of his big blue eyes, finding herself getting drawn into their sparkle.  
"So I take it you're still dead set on not wanting to tell me what's been bothering you?" He changed the subject from work to her quickly. "Or are we going to talk shop all night?"  
Karen smiled coyly and cast her gaze away from him. "As I've said, it's something I shouldn't bother you about."  
He leant further forward. "If it's really _that_ much of a difficult issue for you to talk to me about, then that's fine. But I don't like seeing you worried."  
"It _is_ quite complicated." She admitted, although the temptation was there to tell him everything about what had gone on, at home and between her and Charlie, and then throw herself into his arms and let him hold her there. But to her, the latter would never come to that.  
"I remember you saying I wouldn't understand…so maybe I wouldn't." Chris was under the impression that Karen might have had a point. It was obviously something he couldn't relate to, or that he couldn't give an answer to. "But friends _do_ talk to each other about everything. Well, maybe not everything…but _most_ things."  
Karen hesitantly placed a hand on his, and squeezed it. "You're very thoughtful, Chris."  
He felt warm from her action.  
"I'm so glad we're friends." She couldn't help but feel that she didn't want it to be any more than that. Sure, she found him attractive, but it would only complicate matters between her and Charlie. And things with _them_ weren't exactly plain sailing at the moment…  
"I'm just looking out for you." Chris put to her softly.  
"I guess _someone_ has to." She admitted.  
"But it wasn't as though I'd taken it upon myself to." He protested. "_You're_ not looking out for yourself. I know you're a strong person, but I don't always see that. And I seem to be the only one who doesn't."  
Karen gazed at him softly. He had a point, she had to admit. "I don't think we should stay in here for that much longer."  
"Are you worried about the time?"  
She gazed at her watch. Five forty-five. Charlie would start to wonder where she'd gone. "I'd better go before that husband of mine organises some sort of search party."  
Chris raised an eyebrow at her comment. "He keeps a close watch on you, does he?"  
"He doesn't really trust me when I go out with other people."  
"Which was why you lied to him about where you were." He assumed. "You shouldn't have to let him make you feel like that, you know, Karen."  
"Feel like what?"  
"Like you're some little girl." He smirked a little. "Believe me, you're _not_ like that at all."

Karen went to get her coat on, but he helped her put it on. She couldn't help but feel warm from his gesture. "Thanks for the drink." It certainly allowed her to open up, albeit a little bit.  
"No problem." Chris got his keys out. "Let's get you back."


	4. Chapter 4

Chris pulled up outside Karen's place, and gazed over at her as she went to get out.  
"Thanks for the lift back."  
"You're welcome." He couldn't help but _wish_ that she admitted to him what was bothering her, as he could sense it was still on her mind.  
He grabbed her by the sleeve of her coat, pulling her back into the front seat. "Please don't let whatever it is bother you. Because whatever it is, it can't be that bad."  
Karen smiled weakly, not really convincing him that everything with her seemed to be ok.  
"I just wish that you could tell me, Karen…" Chris added, his voice sounding tenderer.  
She nodded slowly, as he leant a little further forward and kissed her on her cheek. She'd hoped _Charlie_ hadn't spotted that. "I-I'd better go."  
She wanted to kiss him back, she really _did_, but she didn't want him to get the impression that she _fancied_ him. Which, of course, she _did_…sort of. But that would only scare him off.  
"Take care for me…ok?" He made sure Karen got out ok, hoping that she wouldn't fall, as the pavement was a little slippery from the overnight frost that had settled.  
"And I'll see you tomorrow morning."  
She nodded dimly. "Thank you, Chris."  
"What for?"  
"For everything." She peered down at the ground coyly. "You've been ever so good to me."  
Chris shrugged. "Just doing my job."

She watched him swiftly pull away, taken aback at how smoothly he did so.  
Not wanting Charlie to get any more suspicious of her whereabouts, she quickly got in.  
Sure enough, her husband's stout body stood in the hallway; the lack of light made him seem almost ominous and had cast a shadow across the floor. "You're late." He growled out.  
"I told you where I was, I was at work."  
"I don't believe you, Karen." Charlie approached her in a more portentous manner, and grabbed her by her coat's collar, pushing her up against the wall. "I want you to state to me, slowly and clearly, where the hell you went."  
"I was at work." Karen didn't know for how much longer she could keep up lying to him, but he couldn't know the truth.  
"I can smell _alcohol_ on your hair." His grip tightened on her, as he inched even closer to take in another scent, one of which was quite musky yet unfamiliar. The smell sent him berserk. "Who did you go out with?"  
"Does it _matter_ where I went?" She protested, as he didn't intend to let her go. "It was just for _one_ drink, Charlie. And nothing else happened between us."  
"So it _was_ with another guy then." Charlie's eyes came over calculating and menacing, especially as the dimness gave them a certain glow. "I want names."  
"I'm _not_ telling you." Karen choked out, close to shaking. "Because I know what you'll do, and then you'll _hurt_ him."  
"Damn straight I'll hurt him. I might even do more than just that." He pulled her up to him, and hauled her up the stairs. "No wife of mine is going to go out gallivanting with other blokes when she should be at home with _me_."

Even though there were no lights on, she had a pretty good idea of where he was going to take her. "You can't keep a watch on me all the time."  
Charlie shoved her against the bathroom wall, locking the door behind them. "Well, I can. And I _will_."  
Karen shook a little harder as her coat was roughly pulled away, along with what she was wearing, which had been ripped off her and discarded across the floor; she knew what was coming but she could not stop it.  
"And _lying_ to me as well." His voice came out shaky and weak, yet adamant about what he wanted to do with her. "That only makes me think that you want _more_ than just a drink and a _chat_ off him…"  
"W-whatever you think is going on with us, you are _wrong_…" But it was no use – he'd given up listening to her and kept his hard gaze on her.  
"I'm going to have to teach you a lesson."

The following day.  
Karen sat in her chair, trying to make sure that no one, especially _Chris_, noticed her painful-looking black eye; she'd caked enough foundation on to cover the worst of it.  
Her next option was to perhaps cover it even more with loose powder.  
The door opened, and Chris managed to catch her with her back to him, before sharply turning to face him.  
"You're in early." Karen tried to act normal, but she found it very hard to when he came even closer, a confused expression crossing his face.  
"What happened to your _eye_?" His voice came out thin and pale, almost as though he was in shock.  
"Oh, I fell just before I came in this morning. Pavements are still a bit slippery up at ours." She tried to lie, but he could see right through her.  
"No, it looks _older_ than this morning." Chris was even _more_ stunned to note that she'd tried to cover it up. "How much stuff have you put on it?"  
Karen closed her eyes, feeling tears reach them. "Enough to try to cover it up."  
"Well, that's only made it _darker_." He took hold of her wrist and pulled her onto her feet. "Come on, let's get it seen to _properly_."

Chris helped her to sit down on the bed in the first aid room; it was a little lighter in there so he could get a better idea of how bad it was.  
Karen couldn't help but feel a little warm when he tilted her head up slightly to get a better look.  
"Have you tried to get the swelling down?" He asked her, still sounding pale with shock. He couldn't understand how she could've ended up with such a painful-looking contusion, but he knew it wasn't from slipping on an icy pavement.  
She shook her head.  
"Well, firstly all the stuff you've put on it should come off, because that's not making it any better. Then I'll have to bathe it or ice it, as it's _very_ swollen." Chris sat down beside Karen, as he started to wipe the heavy mixture of foundation fused with powder off from under her eye. "I was _right_ for this to come off, it'd gotten _sticky_."  
She flinched a little as he tried, with care, not to irritate the bruising.  
"Sorry. I have to get there though."  
She felt a little bit awful at lying to him. After all, he was only trying to help her. "I'm sorry for lying to you."  
"That's fine, don't worry about it." He managed to clear the sticky, tacky mess off from under her eye, as he surveyed the dark bruise in its natural form. "I'm sure you had your reasons."  
"Well…yes, but I feel awful for not telling you the real reason."  
Chris threw the used tissue away as he made to look for an ice pack or a compress – anything to help bring the swelling down. "I take it the real reason is linked to what it is you don't want to talk to me about." He managed to find an ice pack, which was still partly frozen. "This is going to hurt, but it's good that it does."  
Karen felt herself get almost blown away as he positioned himself back beside her and pressed the ice pack against the bruise. "You guessed right."  
"Well, I still stand by what I said – if you don't want to tell me." He let her keep her hand on it, as the iciness made it sting and then slowly ease the throbbing she felt. "I don't like standing by and watching things like this happen to you though."  
She swallowed hard. She had a burning desire to tell him all of a sudden; Chris might not have been able to do much due to the sheer gravity of the situation, but he might have been able to ease her burden – the _pain_ she felt. "I want to tell you."  
"You _do_?" His eyes widened a little.  
"But…I can't tell you here." Karen admitted. "We'd need to go somewhere private – where no one we know would be able to hear us."  
"Is this not private enough?" Chris couldn't see the harm in wanting her to tell him there and then, but it was during work hours. She might not have been 100% comfortable with it. "Where do you suggest we go?"  
"Somewhere no one suspects us of being."  
"…I can always take you out somewhere, if you like." He suggested vaguely. "If that'd be any better for you."  
Karen nodded shakily. "O-ok."  
"You sure?" He didn't know what else to suggest. "When do you wanna do this?"  
"Tonight." She put to him hastily. "I don't think I can hold off not telling you for another full day."


	5. Chapter 5

After work.  
Chris came to the office, noticing Karen was still working. "Come on, enough of that."  
She flitted her gaze up to him swiftly. "Sorry. Guess I haven't been paying much attention to the time."  
"Got a bit of your concentration back?" He assumed teasingly.  
"Well, I'm probably finding it easier to concentrate now that my black eye isn't as bad."  
"Speaking of which…" Chris slid over to her and had a look at it – it had certainly gone down since the ice had been put on it. "It doesn't look as dark now. It shouldn't take long for it to fully go."  
Karen smiled at him softly. "Thanks for helping me out with that."  
"No problem. Shall we go now?" He put to her, teasing her a little. "Before either of us starve would be a good time."  
"Don't tell me you're hungry _already_?" She noted incredulously.  
"Well…peckish maybe." His stomach rumbled a little, proving him wrong. He did his best to ignore that, as he surveyed Karen's slightly exhausted presence.

They got to a quiet part of the restaurant, which was in a corner by a window; before Karen sat down, Chris slid himself behind her, courteously pulled her chair out for her and slipped her coat off her. She couldn't help but feel warm and fuzzy from his gesture.

He positioned himself so he was facing her, and she couldn't help but stare into his bright blue eyes as the flames from the candles flickered into them and catching all different colours from them. She could make out small tinges of green and violet, depending on how the flames glowed.  
"How did you know I liked Chinese food?" She asked him in amazement.  
Chris smirked coyly. "I _didn't_." His fair skin bore more of a radiance from the flames, as they gave him a gentle yet rich glow. Karen thought that made him look _sexy_.

_No_! She tried to switch off that naughty thought in her mind – they were both _friends_, nothing more. Although she found him attractive, there was _no way_, she thought anyway, in _his_ mind that he ever found _her_ attractive.

"You wanna talk now? Or are you happy to wait till we get something?"  
Karen smiled softly. "I'm happy to wait till we get something." 

Once they'd finished, they'd already broken the ice between them a little bit more, but Karen had _not_ touched on the reason they were both there – together – to start with.  
Chris didn't want to force her into talking, and settled on letting her talk in her own time. Just so that she didn't feel hassled into it.  
"I guess you're waiting for me to tell you what had happened."  
He smirked as he poured her out another white wine. "Sort of."  
She gazed round, feeling chills pass through her spine as she did so. "Charlie would _shoot_ me if he found out where I was."

Chris's gaze became softer. "He really _hates_ you going out that often?"  
"Not so much how often, but it's more the case of who I go out with and for how long I stay out." She peered out of the window, drawing out a small sigh. "This is the first in a long time that I've ever been out anywhere."  
"Neither of you are going out people, then?" A cheeky glint shimmered in his eyes.  
She shook her head. "I feel awful for lying and for covering up this black eye."  
He didn't really notice the bruising in the light. "It looks fine now. You can't see it unless you're that up close or if it's extremely light."  
"Chris, I should've told you sooner about what had been going on."  
"It's not a problem." Chris told Karen reassuringly, not wanting her to worry any further. "You had your reasons…you didn't want me to get involved and that I wouldn't understand. And that's fine, I promise you."  
She gazed at him slowly. "You might not be able to relate with what I've been through but you might be able to help me in some way."  
"But how?" He leant further forward. "If I can't relate to what you're going through, how can I help you?"  
"I think…" She thought carefully. "I think I just need you to be there for me. That's all I want for now."  
"Karen…" He didn't know where it was all going. "We're both friends and I would do anything for you. But I don't know what it is you're asking of me."  
Karen took hold of his wrists, stroking them with her thumbs. She didn't feel him pull away or flinch, but relax a little under her touch. Maybe he _did_ feel something. "Things with Charlie and I had gotten quite bad. Ever since he'd moved back with us now that Bex had come back, he was under the impression that I've been seeing someone else."  
Chris kept a steady gaze on her. "Has he got any proof that you've done so?"  
"Well, no." She felt a little better talking to him. "But you don't know what he's like. He's been keeping checks on me, always knowing where I go, what time I leave, what time I come back…he even used to set me a curfew."  
"That's _stupid_." He pointed out. "Karen, you are _not_ a teenager. Someone Jess's age…I can understand, but not _you_."  
"Try telling that to _him_." Karen's voice shook slightly, causing Chris to frown and move onto a closer chair so he could sit with her.  
"Has he _hurt_ you?" His voice was shaking a little also, and he suddenly didn't want her answer. And even if he did hurt her, how far did it all go? "Karen, what has he done to you?"  
She shook her head. "This was a bad idea. I'm sorry about all this." She went to get up, but he pulled her back down, determined to get her answer out of her, even if it might possibly upset him.  
"I'm not letting you go till you tell me what he did." He told her firmly. "We're here for a reason, and you're going to explain to me that reason."  
Karen found herself giving in to Chris's requests for her to tell him; she felt tears welling in her eyes and she tried to stop them.  
"It's good that this is happening." He told her softly, watching a few of them roll down her cheek. "You've bottled this up for a very long time, and this is your way of releasing it."  
"Are you a shrink?"  
"No, I just know that bottling your thoughts and feelings up isn't a good idea." He placed a hand on her back. "Tell me in your own time."  
"Charlie has been hitting me." Karen managed to say, feeling a huge burden lift itself off her as she said it.  
Chris was silent for a few seconds, as he took a few moments to let her words sink in. He swallowed hard, inwardly wanting to know more, but he shouldn't press her into saying anything she didn't want to. "Did he…cause that black eye?"  
She closed her eyes and nodded.  
He suddenly felt angry. Well…maybe not so much angry, but infuriated that anyone could hurt her. "You should report that, you know." His voice sounded protective, almost to the point of aggression. "What he's done is close enough to assault."  
"I know…" She admitted.  
"If you know, why haven't you told anyone?" He asked her incredulously. "You can't live with a violent partner, what more will he end up doing to you?"  
"That's not the only thing he's done to me, Chris…"  
He suddenly felt sick to his stomach. "You wanna come back to mine…maybe talk about it more?"  
Karen nodded slowly. "Ok, but what about…?"  
"Don't worry about _him_, he can't stop you."


	6. Chapter 6

Chris and Karen sat down together at his place; sick feelings racked his stomach at the thought of what more Charlie could possibly have done to her. "Go through it with me slowly if you're finding it hard to explain."  
She nodded steadily. "You remember last night?"

"When I gave you a lift back?" His worry for her only grew more. "He hurt you _then_?"  
"Charlie twigged as to where I'd been. He must've seen us pull up or it might've been a gut feeling of his. When I came in, he kept interrogating me…asking me where I was, although I'd stuck to my original alibi…"  
"…Which was that you'd worked late."  
She nodded in acknowledgment. "Only that it didn't seem to wash with him. He slapped me across the face and then dragged me up to the bathroom."  
Chris inched more closely to Karen. "You don't have to go into that much detail if you don't want to, but he has tried anything, you should report it…"  
"Charlie _raped_ me, Chris."  
The sick feeling certainly gotten worse; he swallowed hard, anxiously flitting his gaze to the floor and then back to her.

"God, I don't even want to go back to him after this. What'll happen to me _next_?" She almost wept out. "He'll shoot me for finding out where I'd been."  
"You don't have to go back there tonight." He put to her steadily. "Not if you don't want to."  
"But I'm his _wife_." Karen protested weakly. "And he's got set times for me to be back…"  
Chris shook his head, and peeled her coat off her. "For starters, you're old enough to go _where_ you want and _when_ you want. Secondly, I know you two are both married, which I can accept. But I'm not letting you go back to him if he treats you like that."  
"What are you suggesting?"  
"Why don't you stay here?" He offered. He dreaded to think what would happen if he took her back. What then? And what state would she be in the following morning?  
"Chris, I accept the offer, but…"  
"For your own protection." He stated. "And because I care about what happens to you."  
Karen nodded shakily. "O-ok…as long as that's ok with you."  
"It's _more_ than ok with me." Chris couldn't feel any surer about letting Karen stay with him; it would certainly make him feel better that he knew she would be safe and better protected.  
She couldn't help but feel that there was something _more_ going on between them. She didn't want to risk touching him or kissing him in such a way that gave him the impression they were any more than friends. After all, he'd invited her to stay the night with him – she didn't want to push his invitation any further by trying anything lewd.

Once they were in his room together, Chris sat down next to Karen on the bed. "If I were you, I would try and get some sleep." He urged. "Especially since you've had a few drinks." He added teasingly.  
"There's just one problem." She put to him.  
"And what's that?"  
"I can't sleep in the same bed as you."  
He smirked coyly. "You don't _have_ to." He disappeared, only to come back with a very thick-looking blanket and some pillows. "But I'm not having you putting your back out from sleeping on the _sofa_."  
Karen smiled as she watched Chris set that all down on the floor. "Oh I see. You've got your limits, have you?"  
"_Absolutely_."

Karen lay in the darkness, unable to sleep; her eyelids felt heavy, but she couldn't switch off.  
Chris decided to leave her to rest by herself, but when he thought about going to sleep, he found her still awake. "I thought all that alcohol would've put you to sleep."  
She shook her head. "Can't switch off."  
"Well then…" He knelt down beside her as she'd nestled herself up in amongst the blankets and pillows. "We'd better do something about that, hadn't we?"  
"I think I need to be sick." Karen felt nausea hit the pit of her stomach, causing Chris to raise an eyebrow.  
"That's ok, stay still and relax. I'll get you some water."  
She tried to keep the sick feeling down for as long as she could, relieved when he came back with a glass of water.  
"Now drink that slowly." He told her softly.  
She closed her eyes and flinched, as the cold fluid hit her stomach, forcing the nausea back down again.

"How's that?" Chris took the glass from Karen, noticing she looked slightly better.  
"Better, I guess. It hasn't fully shifted."  
"It won't if you're tired as well." He made her lie back down and gazed down at her carefully. "Try and relax…I know you haven't slept that well for a while, but you'll soon drift off."  
She nodded slowly, as he made to get up. "There's something else I haven't told you…"  
"Ok…" He said carefully.  
"I've been getting bad dreams when I _have_ managed to sleep…bad enough for me to wake up from them."  
"Karen…" Chris placed a hand on her shoulder before he got up to leave her to sleep. "Try not to worry. I'm here now."

The next morning.  
Karen awoke, gently drifting back into consciousness; she could sense someone was quite close by her, and she opened her heavy-lidded eyes to find herself gazing up into a pair of bright blue eyes.  
"Wow. Someone's had a nice long sleep." Chris remarked, sliding a few wayward bangs away from her face.  
She smiled tiredly, and rolled herself onto her side. "Is it time to get up?"  
His eyes shimmered teasingly. "Afraid so."  
Karen sat up shakily. She certainly felt more awake, as he positioned himself more closely to her. "Thanks for letting me stay here for the night."  
"You're very welcome."  
She went to get up, when he placed a hand on her arm.  
"But I want you to promise me something." Chris put to her softly.

She shakily nodded. "Of course." Anything to repay what he had done for her.  
"Report what you told me."  
She shook a little. "Chris, I…don't think I can do that for you."  
"Karen…this is for my peace of mind. I can't let you go anywhere near him because of what he'd done to you. And you can't let him do anything like that to you again."  
She shook her head. "I can't do it. If you were married, you'd understand…"

"Well, I certainly wouldn't want to stick by someone who _hit_ me. And maybe do more than that." Chris's grip on her tightened. "I certainly wouldn't love them anymore."  
Karen drew in a deep breath. "It's not that I still love him."  
"Then why are you refusing to report him?" He asked her, slightly beat.  
"Because I know that if I _do_, he will _hurt_ me."  
"He _won't_ hurt you." He reassured her. "He won't if I'm nearby."  
She gazed at him softly. "I don't want him to see us together."  
"Why not?"  
She felt him stroke her a little where he was holding her. "Because he might hurt _you_."


	7. Chapter 7

Chris gave Karen a lift into work a few minutes later; they made sure Charlie was nowhere to be seen before settling on going in together.  
"I feel awful." She noted dimly.  
"_Don't _feel awful." He told her steadily. "What he did was not your fault."  
They both got through to the office, and Karen was still so shaky and nervous that Chris had to think of something to get her to relax.  
"Have this." He got her some water, which she shakily took. "And try to calm down."  
"I can't…not if I know that he can come in at any time." She was more worried about what Charlie would _say_ to her after she failed to come home and spent the night somewhere else. She could only dread to think at what questions he'll fire at her.  
"I'm right here." He positioned himself against the windowsill. "And I'm not moving till my first set is due – which isn't yet."  
"But he could end up accusing _you _of doing things with me." Karen put to him carefully. "He might even go as far as _hurt_ you."  
"_Not_ on the premises he can't." Chris didn't seem that bothered at the prospect of being accused by Charlie of having sex with his wife, or prospectively having his lights punched out by someone who was twice his size. "He'll only get thrown out if he does." 

Sure enough, it didn't take long for Charlie to come in.  
His gaze immediately fixed onto Karen. "Where did you go last night?" His voice almost became a snarl and his eyes became hard.  
Chris almost jolted at the aggression in his voice.  
"I spent the night at a friend's place." Which was partly true. "Not that it's any concern of yours."  
"It's every much my concern, Karen, you are my _wife_." Charlie glanced over at the younger male, only assuming that he was there for work-based reasons. "You do not go to another person's property, doing god only knows what."  
"_Nothing _ever happened." Karen affirmed, knowing she wasn't far off from getting some form of penalty off him.  
"So tell me who he is then."  
Chris was on standby for whatever Charlie was going to deal out to her; he didn't know himself what he was going to try, but he knew it wouldn't be anything nice.  
"What makes you so sure that it was another _guy_?"

His smirk became wrier. "Because I know _you_." He grabbed her by her arm and pushed her up against the wall. "And I'm starting to lose my trust in you."  
Chris sprung up from where he was positioned and slid up to the fighting pair; he pulled Charlie off of Karen, taking the larger male by surprise at how strong he was.  
"Thanks…I think." She managed to gasp out, finally able to get her breath back before he throttled her.  
"Are you all right?" Chris asked her shakily, tightening his grip around Charlie's arms as he'd forced them behind his back.  
"I'll live."  
"What do you want me to do with him?" Chucking him out would be _his_ idea of sorting him out, but he didn't want to anything too extreme.  
"Just throw him outside." Karen pulled herself away from the wall. "I'll decide something later."  
Charlie sharply turned to Chris. "Don't tell me she's got _you_ protecting her." He was starting to see him as nothing more than a shrimp.  
"Just keep away from her." He put to him warningly, opening the door and pushing him outside.  
She positioned herself back at her desk, with him going back to his previous spot.  
"You can't live with someone like that, Karen."  
She shook her head as she tried to get back on with her work. "I _have_ to."

He leant over her desk. "No, you don't." His eyes bore a protective glint in them. "I saw what he was like with you just then, he turned into an _animal_. Please don't tell me you want to carry on living with someone like that."  
Karen gazed at Chris, beat.  
His gaze became softer. "I would never, _ever_ treat you like that."  
She smiled softly at what he'd said and secretly felt flattered. "I got off more lightly than I thought."  
"But still, you didn't do anything to provoke him."  
"I don't need to do much to provoke him, Chris." She watched him slide back to his previous spot again. "If I don't give him the right answers to his questions, he'll get wound up."  
"Listen to me. You can't let him control you. You don't have to do anything he says, if you don't like what he asks of you."  
Karen felt tears come to her eyes again.  
Chris wasn't sure what to do, but he couldn't let her sort her problems out by herself. For all he knew, she could end up getting badly hurt, and he wouldn't want that. "What do you want me to do for you?" He eventually asked her.  
"Just give me the rest of this week to try and make things better." She put to him. "And then you can intervene all you like."  
He smiled softly. "Just be careful…ok?" 

Karen decided to do whatever Charlie asked of her, however hard that was for her to do; she made sure she stuck to the times he wanted her back and that she spent hardly _any_ time with anyone else, especially a certain person she could _not_ stop thinking about.  
She spent one night on the sofa in the lounge, a few thick blankets thrown over her to keep her as warm as possible from the overnight frost outside. She peered up at the ceiling, unable to get Chris out of her head.  
Karen closed her eyes, her hand subconsciously drifting down along her stomach, wishing that he were right there with her…touching her. She gasped at the dreamlike contact, feeling herself get pulled up against a warmer body and have their arms wrapped around her protectively.  
She hastily opened her eyes, feeling a little guilty at what she'd imagined and fantasized about. Chris was nothing more than just a friend, but their first night out together – when they were talking and then he took her back – only made her look further into his _real _feelings for her.  
Especially when he leant further forward and kissed her; she felt his lips softly press themselves against her cheek, sending warm pulses through her pores and exciting her. She could sense no lewdness from him, but there was definitely something tender and affectionate in his action. Surely friends of either sex did things like that without construing anything intimate?  
Even the _scent _of the young male excited Karen all the more – musky yet sweet at the same time. She wondered what it'd feel like to have him pressed up against her, laying beneath her as she did so many naughty and sexual things to him.  
_No_! She snapped to, sitting upright in bed. She knew the intimate feelings and lewd thoughts she had for him _had_ to stop. But they wouldn't, which was tiring her to no end.  
The sheer thought of Chris, however small, made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And why wouldn't all those feelings for him _stop_?  
_Oh my god…_she thought eventually. _I think I'm falling for him_.


	8. Chapter 8

When next week came, Karen came in, immediately catching Chris's gaze.  
"Wow." He noted, taking in her presence. "You look a lot better."  
She suddenly felt coy, hoping that the fuzzy feelings she held for him had gone, but they hadn't. "You're making me blush."  
"Sorry." He sidled up to her, unable to tear himself away; his eyes bore a shyness, almost as if he was unsure of what to say or feel. "So are things any better?"  
"I just do whatever he tells me to." She told him steadily. "But we don't spend any time together in bed."  
"I guess…because of him hitting you, you haven't felt ready to be more intimate." He assumed.  
"Well, actually, no. There's another reason." Karen put to him.  
"_Really_?" Chris perked up, his eyes widening a little. "You care to tell me what that is?"  
She smirked to herself. She would've been happy to tell him she was falling for someone else, but _he_ might not have been so happy if he knew that it happened to be _him_ she was madly falling for. She shook her head slowly. "I can't tell you."  
He looked at her, crestfallen. "Why not?" He tilted his head a little. She couldn't help but find that cute.  
"Because I can't." Karen made to go, when Chris's voice stopped her.  
"Do you wanna come by mine after work?"  
"I guess I could." She didn't want to fall back into Charlie's bad books about staying out late or going to places without him knowing. "But it's Friday. And what if Charlie goes berserk again?"  
"_Ignore_ him. So what if he _does_?" He reassured her. "I just feel like spending Friday night with _you_. You know, end of the week and all that."  
She nodded slowly. "O-ok. As long as you didn't have any other plans…"  
"None whatsoever." Chris couldn't help but wonder at what reason Karen hadn't taken to Charlie as much as before. Could she be falling for someone else? His stomach felt like it was infested with butterflies at the thought of it being _him_.

"I don't want to rebel against him."  
"But you're not." He protested. "You can't let him treat you like that."  
Karen smiled at the thought of spending Friday night with the _one_ person she'd developed a soft spot for.  
"And to push things with him even further…I can pick you up if you want." He suggested. "And make sure you wear something nice."  
Her heart fluttered at the thought of what he was going to do.  
He winked. "Like you always do." 

Karen took _forever_ to decide what to wear; she managed to get ready _just_ before Chris showed up, and she noticed him smoothly pull up outside.  
Nervously, she got to the front door, managing to slowly slip outside and close it. She felt like she was stuck in some sort of dream as he unlocked the car to allow her to get in.  
"Well…we're looking a bit flash tonight, aren't we?" Chris commented, his bright blue eyes shimmering in the dark; for how little light there was outside, albeit for the streetlamp already shining down onto the car, she was amazed at the vibrant mix of colours in them.  
Karen felt herself get blown away when he leant further forward and pressed his lips against her cheek tenderly. She almost gasped at the contact – especially when she took in that same, seductively musky scent on his skin.  
He gently pulled away, his eyes fixing onto hers in a compassionate way. "I guess we'd better go."

"So what's on the cards for tonight then?" She wanted to know, hoping that he hadn't gone and kept it a surprise from her.  
Chris shrugged. "Nothing special." A cheeky smirk played at the corners of his mouth. "How do you feel at the moment?"  
"Well, maybe a bit hungry…" Karen didn't know if that was what he meant.  
"Good." He gazed over at her fleetingly, knowing he should be keeping his undivided attention on where he was going. "So am I."  
She recognised the route he was taking, and she felt all the more nervous at where he was taking them. "You're not going to that same place again, are you?"  
"Might be." His voice came out a little chipper. "Because I know you _like_ it." 

They parked up, and Chris gazed at her more admiringly.  
"You didn't have to take me here."  
"I _wanted_ to." He admitted. "Plus, _I _like it here also. And we _did_ spend our first night together here."  
Karen thought back to that time – she remembered _everything_ about that night quite vividly. The way he gazed at her, as she watched the flames from the candles glow against his fair skin richly. And especially when he came closer to her and put his hand on her back. The touch he gave her made her want to submit herself to him.  
"…Everything ok?" His voice faintly came out as she zoned out slightly, as a worried look appeared on his face.  
She snapped to, and gazed over at him. "Sorry. I didn't mean to…drift out like that."  
"That's ok." Chris relaxed a little, relieved that she felt pretty much all right. "I guess you're still worried about things, and that's normal."  
Karen nodded faintly. _If only I could tell you the real reason…_she thought about saying anxiously.

"Karen, are you sure everything is ok?" He didn't want to keep on, as they were both spending a Friday night _together_. But he didn't want her preoccupied. "You've barely said anything all night."  
She smiled softly. "I'm fine, Chris. Honestly, I am. Just going over things in my head, that's all."  
"What, you mean work?" Chris assumed, a playful smirk forming on his features. "It doesn't hurt to switch work mode off sometimes, you know."  
"It's not about work."  
"Is it about what's going on at home?" He sounded more worried.  
Karen closed her eyes and nodded. "In part."  
"Hey, listen…" He slowly took hold of her wrist and stroked it in a friendly sort of way. "You don't have to go back tonight if you don't want to."  
"A-are you saying I can spend the night with you _again_?" She was astounded at what he was suggesting.  
"If…you _want_ to." Chris gazed down at the table coyly. He didn't know why he was even inviting her to stay at his for another night, but he obviously felt _just_ as alone as _she_ did. "And _I _don't mind if you do that."  
Karen smiled softly. "I'd _like_ to."  
"I just worry that you're not safe." He admitted softly. "And I would _hate_ for you to end up hurt like before."  
She suddenly felt more nervous. What if her feelings for him got too much for her when she was _round_ there? Surely she would _have_ to say something to him…and if he _did_ feel the same, what then? Images of the young male in bed, naked, played over in her mind and she wanted them to stop…  
"Karen?" Chris's voice came out slightly worried again.  
She flitted her gaze into his bright blue eyes, noticing they'd taken on a softer, dimmer hue. "Chris, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I keep doing this…"  
"Don't apologise." He spoke tenderly. "Once we've finished, we can go back. Maybe talk some more…"


	9. Chapter 9

Feeling wiped out from the few glasses of wine, Karen felt herself drift in and out of consciousness all through the drive back; Chris gazed over at her a few times, realising she might not have felt up to talking when they got back to his.  
When he got back, he wrapped an arm around her, helping her to sit down on the bed.  
Once he'd done that, he got her some water to clear her head a little bit and ease the slight nausea she had. "Drink this. It's good for you."  
Karen did as she was told, and Chris took the glass from her.  
"All better now?"  
She nodded faintly. "I didn't think I could be such a lightweight with drinks like that."  
He smiled softly. "I'll get your bedding for you, ok? Just stay there."  
"But you wanted to talk some more…" She protested faintly.  
He reappeared with the bedding she'd used the time before, and then knelt down to get a better look at her. "I don't think you're in the right state of mind for any of that."  
"But…"  
"Come on, young lady." He teased. "Get yourself into bed and get some sleep."

Karen lay awake in amongst the thick blankets, as the room was flooded in darkness and silence.  
She gazed up at the ceiling, wishing she could slip into bed next to Chris, press herself up against him and take in his warmth. But she guessed he wouldn't be happy about that – for one thing, she would be waking him up, and secondly, he might not like her sleeping right next to him and tell her to get out.  
She couldn't hear any movement from him, so he must've gone straight to sleep.  
Karen drew in a deep breath and swept her fingers through her bangs, moving them away from her forehead. She didn't realise having to tell someone how she felt about them was so hard. But Chris wasn't just anyone – he was someone who meant a lot to her, as well as himself having such a high regard for _her_. 

The next morning.  
Karen crashed into consciousness, feeling the sun's warm rays shine onto her through the window.  
"Guess you needed that." A chipper voice came out from above her.  
She rolled onto her side, seeing Chris stand in the bedroom's doorway. She couldn't get over how bright eyed he looked. "How long have you been up?"  
"For around 3 hours." He smirked playfully.  
"God…I should get up." Karen shakily sat up, prompting him to come over to her and kneel down beside her. "I'm so sorry about this."  
"No, don't be." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's Saturday, you don't have to get up for anything."  
She smiled at him softly. "You want me to be lazy?"  
"No, but you're a guest, aren't you?" Chris's gaze became more thoughtful, pensive. He couldn't help but notice she seemed bothered by something. "What you wanted to talk about last night…you wanna talk about it now?"  
"I guess…I should." Karen admitted numbly.  
"You don't _have_ to. But from what I can see, something's wearing you down and I don't like it." He told her.  
She swallowed hard, casting her gaze to the blankets she was lying in amongst.  
"Karen…I'm not trying to make you say anything you don't want to. But because you originally wanted to talk to me about whatever it is that's on your mind, I feel it's only fair that you tell me now rather than bottling it up any longer."  
She drew in a deep breath, gazing into his worried eyes, before flitting her gaze away again.  
"I know you're scared about telling me but once you do so, you'll feel better and I might be able to help you. But if you don't tell me, then I can't do anything."  
"You won't like what I'm going to say, Chris."  
"Doesn't matter." Chris rubbed her shoulder comfortingly. "We're friends. We tell each other everything."  
Karen peered into his bright blue eyes, wishing she could touch him, kiss him…do something to reassure him that she never meant to hurt him.  
"Please tell me." He pressed her.  
"Chris, the reason Charlie and I aren't fully together is because I'm in love with someone else. The stupidest thing about it is that the person I'm in love with is someone I hold very close to me and to tell them would be…I-I don't know…_wrong_. Well, not so much wrong, but immoral."  
Chris said nothing for some time, but felt good enough just to hold her and absorb her words ever so slowly that he made sure he understood them. "You wanna tell me who that person is?" He asked eventually.  
She shook her head. "I can't tell you. I just can't. If I did, it'd mean the end of Charlie and me, and he would end up _hurting_ me because of it. Maybe even _them_." She closed her eyes. "The worst thing is, the person who I've fallen for might not even like me back…and I know the way they feel about me, yet I feel like it's so hard to do anything about it."

He jolted a little from how upset she sounded.  
"Just leave me alone about it…You wouldn't understand." Karen threw the blankets back over herself and rolled onto her side, with her back facing Chris.  
The young male was in stunned silence for a few minutes, trying to work out what to say. He wasn't _offended_, but he was certainly shocked at what she'd said. Eventually, he managed to come up with something. "Yes, I _do_ understand. There's someone _I _like at the moment, but I can't _ever_ seem to want to _tell_ them how I feel because they're with someone else. So I'm going through exactly the same as _you_. Don't say I don't understand, because I _can_."  
She sharply got up, turned to face him and crashed her lips against his.  
Chris felt an electric shock pass through his spine, as Karen slid her tongue along his lower lip, demanding access to his mouth. He shuddered a little from the contact, and hastily broke the kiss. "_What_…?"  
She savoured the slightly sweet taste from him, crestfallen that he didn't seem to want to play along.  
"K-Karen…how could you?"  
She suddenly felt awful. Chris _never_ felt the same way for _her_? Then who _did_ he have feelings for? "Chris, I'm so…"  
The young male skitted backward towards the door, shaking slightly. "We're just friends…and yet you did…_that_ to me?"  
"I'm sorry." She admitted. "I just thought you felt the same about me."  
"How could you _do_ something like that?" He sounded incredulous with shock. "What were you going to plan _next_ – getting me into _bed_?"  
Karen took in his posture; his expression was one of disbelief, and his bright blue eyes had dimmed over in confusion.

"I-I think m-maybe you should go." He decided dimly. 


	10. Chapter 10

Karen walked all the way back to her place from Chris's; she was in sheer shock. He _never_ felt the same way towards her? It didn't seem plausible. He gave off subtle hints that there was perhaps something more going on between them – heck, the nights out they had was clear proof of that!  
She got back into the house, finding Charlie in the bedroom. She guessed he'd been lying in wait for her.  
"How dare you." His voice almost boomed out against all four of the walls. "I bet you even _screwed_ him as well."  
Karen shook her head. "It didn't even get that far, Charlie. Don't exaggerate."  
He grabbed her and shoved her against the nearest wall; she flinched when her spine hit it. "So are you going to tell me who the lucky guy is?"  
She was shaking slightly. Even though Chris made it (slightly) clear that he didn't want anything more than friendship between them, she didn't want him to end up getting hurt. "_Never_." She spat out. "Not even on your _deathbed_."  
"You might reach yours before I reach mine." Charlie hauled her into the bathroom, locking the door and ripping her clothes from her. "So I'll thank you to talk back to me like that again."  
"However many times you do this, will _not_ make me tell you."  
"It's _Chris_, isn't it?"  
Karen felt her heart stop. "No." She couldn't let him be hurt. Not now.  
"The moment I saw you two together that day…there was something going on."  
"We were talking about _work_, Charlie. It meant nothing." She protested, as she lay, shivering, on the bathroom floor. "We're _friends_, if you must know, but that is all."  
Charlie forced her to look at him. "Do you expect me to _believe_ you, Karen? All you've done is _lie_ to me."

"I-I'm telling you the truth." She fixed her eyes onto his harder, fiercer ones. "We haven't done anything together."  
He pushed her back down onto the floor. "I'll _believe_ you this once. But it doesn't mean to say I'm not going to _do_ this."

Karen gazed at the bruises adorning her back in the mirror; they'd become more tender and painful-looking and she was unable to put anything on them.  
"Karen?" Tom's voice came from behind the door. "Everything ok in there?"  
"I think so." She lied.  
"You sure? I can always get Chris for you if you want…"  
Her heart thumped hard against her chest at the prospect of Chris seeing her in that state.  
"I think I should actually. I'll go get him."

Karen resignedly let Chris in, who noticed straight away she didn't look well.  
"Has something happened?"  
"Lucky guess."  
One thing he could _not_ stand was sarcasm. "Come on, Karen. Don't be like this with me. I'm here to help."  
"Charlie assaulted me again over the weekend."  
His eyes came over a little dim – which they tended to do when he was worried or confused. "Can I take a look for you?"  
She closed her eyes. "They're not in the most convenient of places…"  
He smiled softly. "Well, if it means you not having to drive to the doctors or the A and E…"

Karen took him down to the first aid room, and they locked the door as they got in; she turned her back to him, unbuttoning her top and letting it come away from her body.  
Chris swallowed hard, as he surveyed the very painful-looking bruises; one was just under her right shoulder blade, whilst the other one was further down, at the small of her back. "They look like they hurt."  
She nodded faintly. "They do."  
"I don't want to put too much pressure on them, as they're so deep. But I _can_ ice them for you, to help dull the pain."  
"_Anything_, Chris…"  
Something soft yet icy pressed itself into the spot directly under her shoulder blade and around it.  
Karen jolted from the sensation.  
"Sorry if it's cold." Chris placed his free hand on her back, stroking her softly.  
"I'm sorry." She said after some time.  
"What for?"  
"For hurting you." She closed her eyes from the stroking; it was distracting her from the iciness penetrating her injuries. "I should never have kissed you."  
"I should be sorry." He admitted slowly. "I shouldn't have told you to leave. My feelings were just…all over the place and I guess because you had these feelings for me, I got a bit confused."  
Karen smiled a little. "A bit of a shock to the system, was it?"  
"No one has _ever_ admitted to having feelings for me." He explained. "And in a way, I've never known what those feelings were ever like. But the times I've been with you have made me realise what they are."  
"I forced myself on you, though. I feel like I've done nothing but use you to get close to you and then…_do_ that to you."  
"Karen, the person _I _feel something for is standing right in front of me." Chris told her inexplicably.  
She shakily turned round, as he'd finished icing the bruises and rendering them almost to the point of numbness; she'd startled him slightly as she was wearing nothing on her top half, giving him a _very_ good sight of her well-endowed body. "But you must know this is all wrong."  
"Where's the harm in it?" He disposed of the ice pack by throwing it into the sink for it to be refrozen and reused, as he came closer to her. "What's so wrong about it?"  
"Because I'm so much _older_ than you." Karen stated, feeling slightly good about the fact that Chris was admiring her body. Not in a lewd way, of course, but in a more appreciative way. "Does that not bother you?"  
"Not really." He placed his hands on her shoulders, not wanting to get right in there and touch the more forbidden of areas; he leant further forward, brushing his nose playfully against hers and bringing their bodies within touching distance.  
"You know, I thought there might've been an ulterior motive to me taking you down here." She taunted a little.  
"Well…we don't need to start for another half an hour…so you wanna take this slow or fast?" Chris put to her shakily, excitement clear in his voice.  
Karen didn't seem too sure. "Slow, I guess."  
He pulled away slightly. "I know what you've been through, I understand. But please trust me, Karen. I will _not_ hurt you."  
She shakily cupped his face with one hand; silky, supple skin, just as she expected. "I know you won't hurt me. I trust you enough…but I'm still hurting inside. I don't think I want to get into that just yet."  
He let her put her top back on, as he positioned himself nearer to the door.

She was amazed at how patient Chris seemed to be about the whole thing – almost like he understood the tempo at which she wanted to take things. And he didn't even seem to want to touch her most intimate areas, which most guys wouldn't say no to.  
"It'll take however long it _has_ to." He reassured her, rubbing her down her back. "But my feelings for you will _always_ be there. They won't go away simply because we haven't done anything to each other. But when you _do_ feel ready…we can go as slow as you want. Go at a pace where you feel most relaxed. Ok?"  
Karen smiled softly. "Ok."


	11. Chapter 11

A few days had passed.  
Karen was round Chris's; they were talking amongst themselves, mainly about work, but the conversation soon came onto _them_.  
He carefully reached out and folded back a stray bang to where it _should_ have been. She felt warm and tingly at the gesture.  
"Whenever you feel ready to…you know…do anything together, I won't _hurt_ you." He promised.  
She nodded shakily.  
"Because I can _never_ hurt you." Chris inched himself closer to her. "And if at any time you want me to stop, I can do that for you."  
Karen placed her hands on his wrists, startling him. "Chris, I need you to do something for me."  
"_Anything_."  
She looked into his soft, blue eyes as they gazed tenderly down into hers. "I need you to _replace_ him."  
"I don't understand."  
"Let's go to bed together…I want to show you."

Karen stripped herself down, feeling Chris's admiring gaze wander down her youthful-looking body. His gaze fixed itself onto her wide, curvy hips and moved downward to her perfectly shaped legs. "Now it's your turn."  
"Oh, I'm really nothing much to look at…" He coyly removed his own clothes, undoing the belt on his trousers and letting them slide down his long, slender legs. His t-shirt came next, and he tossed that onto the floor and watched Karen's gaze rove down from his strong shoulders, his broad chest and perfectly flat stomach.  
Chris slid his boxers away from his hips and down onto the floor, allowing them to join his other discarded clothes.  
"Nothing much to look at?" She moved her gaze further down, from his small hips to the spot in between his legs. "Chris, y-you're perfect."  
He slipped into bed, gesturing for her to join him.  
The two of them were happy to just lay there in each other's arms; Karen had her arms around Chris's shoulders, whilst his arms wrapped themselves around her waist, hugging them both close together.

"To do something like this with you has been something I've wanted for a _very_ long time." He admitted shyly.

She gazed at him openly, pulling him down so their lips could meet and press against each other; they kissed very softly, there was no lewdness coming into it at all.  
They closed their eyes, giving in to the warm feelings their bodies were producing.  
As they broke the kiss, Karen felt herself get blown away from the hot sensations flooding her.

"This can go as slow as you want." Chris put to her softly.

She lay back, allowing him to lean over her and twirl a few long sections of her hair. "I trust you enough to do this, Chris." She gently stroked him under his jaw with her index finger. "You can make this all better."  
He let her pull him down for another kiss, and whimpered a little when he felt her fingers slide through his dark bangs.  
Karen closed her eyes, as Chris positioned himself above her and kissed her at her shoulders and chest area, before moving down.  
His sugar-soft butterfly kisses moved down the middle of her sternum to her stomach, and he gently licked at her navel, flicking his tongue inside of it.  
She pushed him down further, and he skimmed his thumbs along and across the crests of her hips; she trusted him enough not to touch her most intimate of areas without her permission.  
He moved himself back above her, his placid gaze resting on her slightly softened eyes.  
"I want you to get rid of the way he made me feel…down there." Karen put to him shakily.  
Chris dutifully obeyed, placing himself further down and gently slid his tongue over and around her; what he was doing was not intending to excite her, but to rid her of any pain or corrupted feelings she may have had. Something salty came into contact with him, but he let it come. He could only assume it was _good_ that it was happening to her.  
He closed his eyes when he slowly slid over her jewel, feeling it harden in order to resist, as he did so. "All better now?" He withdrew, gazing down into Karen's eyes.  
"Y-you did fine." She put to him breathlessly. "I-I just…had to have what he did to me taken away."  
Chris said nothing, but placed his hand on her stomach, rubbing her there comfortingly.  
"He really _hurt_ me, Chris."  
"Ssh…I know he did." The stroking came softer and more soothing. "Maybe you should try and rest…save your energy." He wanted to carry on with touching her – exciting her and working out all of her sensitive spots. But Charlie's assault on her had worn her down considerably.  
Karen felt her eyes get heavy-lidded from the resultant pain and from what Chris had done to her. "Thank you for doing that for me."  
"You're very welcome." Chris slowly settled down beside her and wrapped an arm around her waist; he planted a small kiss on her cheek, as he fell asleep with her.

Morning came.

Karen awoke, sensing an equally warm body pressed up against her back; she glanced to see it was Chris, still deeply asleep.  
She smiled, as she stroked at one of his arms that were wrapped around her waist; he stirred from the slight touch, pressed a hand into her stomach and slid himself even closer up against her. "Chris…"  
He stirred again, wrapping his legs around hers; he obviously wasn't as much of a morning person as he liked to make out.  
"It's time to get up." She tried again, placing a hand on his hip, and stroking him there softly.  
Chris slowly opened his eyes, gazing straight into Karen's darker ones. "Hey." He sounded a little faint – probably because he didn't expect her to still be there. "Good sleep?"  
"I haven't had sleep like that for a very long time." She admitted.  
He shakily sat up and started to get dressed. "I can only assume that's a _good_ thing."  
She started to get dressed also. "What do we tell the others?"  
"We shouldn't tell _anyone_, Karen. What would they think if we _did_?"  
She nodded dimly. "I guess you're right."  
"And your husband should _definitely_ not find out about us." He put to her warningly.  
Karen shivered a little at the thought of _him_. "He will find out eventually, Chris. I know he will."  
"Not if we keep it under wraps, he won't."  
She shook her head. "No, I know him better than anyone. He has his ways of finding out."  
Chris slid up to her, placing his hands on her wrists. "Even if he does eventually find out, it won't change the way I feel about _you_."  
She smiled softly. "I know it won't." She still felt warm from what he did to her last night, even though he wasn't intending to excite her at all. "What you did last night really helped, you know."  
"Really?"  
She nodded. "I think, in a way, it's made me forget about him."


	12. Chapter 12

Karen was working late at the end of that day.  
She heard the door open through her torpor-induced haze, and she saw Chris slowly come in.  
"Why are you still here?" He wanted to know. "You should get yourself home…"  
"I'm working late."  
"I can _see_ that." He positioned himself in front of her desk. "You'll only make yourself tired if you do that."  
She drew in a deep breath, as Chris slid up behind her and rubbed her shoulders to get rid of the tension he could tell she was feeling. She didn't realise he could make her feel so good as he worked into the tense muscles.  
"Come on, we don't want you going through burnout." He teased lightly, keeping the rubbing going. "And I can take you back if this is proving too…_relaxing_ for you."  
Karen smiled slightly. "Oh, I see. Is that an offer?"  
"Might be." He perched himself on the corner of her desk, a cheeky smirk playing on his features. "Or if you weren't feeling _too_ tired, we could stay out together for a bit…go for a drink if you like."  
She flitted her gaze away from Chris. "I shouldn't make too much of a habit of it. What would Charlie say if I keep doing this?"  
He positioned himself near the window. "He can't do anything about this. He _made_ you feel like this." His voice became soft and affectionate. "Do what _you_ feel is right. Don't conform to what he wants, because he's not being fair."  
Karen gazed back up at him steadily. "Maybe tomorrow night…when I'm not feeling as worn out."  
"Now I wonder why that could be?" He smirked playfully. "Let's get you back."  
She didn't want to put him out by giving her a lift back to hers. "Chris…you don't have to do that."  
"I _want_ to." Chris got his keys out as he waited for her to lock up. "And it _is_ getting late."

The next day, Karen came across Chris in one of the corridors; there was no one else around, only them.  
He grabbed hold of her wrist and took her into the storage cupboard, which happened to be right opposite them.  
"What's all this for?" She wasn't startled, but more surprised at what he did and what he was _intending_ on doing next.  
"Turn round for me."  
Confused, Karen did so, and she felt something loop itself around her neck. "Chris, I…I demand to know what it is you're doing."  
"You can face me now." He slowly inched further back, (which wasn't so hard for him to do being the fact that he was so slim), so he could get a better look. "Perfect." He smiled admiringly.  
Karen peered down, realising with pleasant surprise that Chris had attached a very fine, yet expensive-looking, chain around her neck. There was a pendant, which she could only guess was _diamond_ that had dropped to a few inches below her décolletage. "Chris, I…"  
"Hope you like it." His bright blue eyes caught some of the sparkle coming from the small diamond.  
"I-it's very pretty." She had to admit. "But why?"  
"Why _not_?" He came closer to her. "Can I _not_ splash out on you for once?"  
"You already _did_." She saw his eyes dim in slight confusion.  
"How have I?"

Karen thought back to when they spent their second night together; the flames from the candles giving him a rich, seductive glow…everything about that time was _perfect_. But she was married to somebody else – to have _two_ guys on the go would be wrong. "I can't do this anymore."  
Chris snaked his arms around her waist. "Do what anymore?"  
She drew in a deep breath. "You know full well. Taking me out for drinks, buying me gifts…I can't keep carrying on with this."  
"So you'd rather stick with your husband who you go home to every day, only to have him batter you and hurt you." He assumed matter-of-factly. "Karen, I do _not_ wanna treat you like that. I wanna treat you with _respect_, just as I do when I work with you."  
Karen shuddered a little, allowing him to move his body closer against her and softly wipe a stray tear away from her cheek. She gasped as his finger delicately brushed against her skin. "I don't think he loves me anymore."  
"What is it you wanna do?" He wanted to know. "You wanna go home to him tonight, or stay with me again?"  
She nestled her head against his chest, as he rubbed her down her back. "I-I don't know. I don't think I can face being with him tonight."  
"Then you don't _have_ to." Chris told her softly, his stroking becoming gentler. "You can be with someone who _does_ love you."  
"Thank you for the gift."  
He smiled softly. "My pleasure." 

Karen sat with Chris in his flat; they were nestled up against each other, keeping each other warm as it was quite cold outside.  
"What do you feel like doing?" He asked her, happy to sit there for a little bit longer.  
She closed her eyes, liking the way he made her feel as he hugged her close to him. "I'm happy to sit here for a little longer."  
He jumped when he heard her mobile vibrate on the table in front of them, and she picked it up to read the new message that had come through.  
Karen slowly put it back down and went to get her coat.  
Chris frowned at her action. "Something wrong?"  
"I have to go home." She told him sadly. "I'm sorry, Chris. I didn't mean for this to happen."  
"What's happened?" He gazed at her, worried.  
"Charlie wants me back home." She swiftly zipped up.  
"Why are you going along with him?" He sharply got up, wishing she didn't have to listen to him and stay for a bit longer. "Karen, you don't have to listen to him."  
She drew in a deep breath. "Maybe we can do something together tomorrow or maybe on Friday. But he's keeping a check on me, and I _should_ do what he says."  
Chris followed her to the door, as she went to see herself out; he leant against the doorway, not wanting her to go. "Has he _threatened_ you?"  
Karen gazed at him anxiously, before leaning forward to kiss him; their lips softly pressed against each other, and she gently brushed her index finger against his cheek. "I'm sorry…"

Charlie waited in the hallway, seeing her come in. "You come back when I say. And don't you dare go out gallivanting with god only knows who again."  
Karen felt her breath catch in her throat, when he pushed her up against the wall and noticed an unfamiliar sparkle coming from the pendant Chris had given her.  
He harshly seized it, feeling a glint of jealousy at the glitzy gift. "Did he _buy_ this for you?" He demanded aggressively, as the diamond sparkled against her fair skin. "He must have flashed his plastic about to have given you it. A rich one as well, then, is he?"  
"Ch-Charlie…don't."  
"I bet that's not the only thing he's been flashing about." Charlie's grip tightened around the pendant, giving Karen the impression that he could snap it off, at any time soon. "What else have you two been doing?"  
"_Nothing_." She flinched as he effortlessly snapped the pendant from the chain, causing that to snap in half also. She felt sick at what he'd done.  
"No one buys my wife fancy gifts." He snarled at her.  
"H-he spent a lot of money on that." She stuttered.  
"Good. Let's hope he's got enough left to get you _another_ one." Charlie tossed the pendant along with the snapped chain it was on, sending it hurtling across the floor.  
Karen shakily picked it up, watching him storm off upstairs. She felt tears reach her eyes at what had happened.


	13. Chapter 13

Chris came in the following morning; he was surprised to see Karen wasn't wearing the pendant he gave to her.  
"Charlie broke it."  
"He did _what_?" When she nodded dimly, he locked the office door behind them both, as it was just the two of them. "Did this happen last night?"  
"When he told me to come home, yes."  
He felt a stab in his chest at what she'd told him. "I can always get you another one."  
"Chris, no." Karen placed her hands on his shoulders. "I don't want you to end up forking out more money for things like that if he's going to carry on breaking them."  
"Well then, there's only one way out of this." Chris put to her softly. "You're going to have to get rid of him."  
"B-but I _love_ him." She protested.  
"Enough to let him keep beating you?" He made sure she kept her gaze straight onto him. "Karen…what's more important – staying with someone violent because you _love_ them and don't want anything bad to come out of it, or being with someone who promises to treat you properly?"  
Karen drew in a deep breath. "I guess you're right. But I should've stopped him."  
"The important thing is that he didn't hurt you. The pendant doesn't matter. Well, it does as I got it for you, but I can get _another_ one." Chris didn't mind that much at possibly having to get her a new pendant – it wasn't as though he couldn't afford to. But the fact that Charlie had deliberately _broken _it shocked him. He must've had a more violent streak than he previously thought.  
She nodded dimly. "Can I come out with you again?"  
"How many times?" He smirked a little. "It's not a problem."  
"I just feel safer with you."

Later that night, the two of them sat in the bar together, talking over what they should be doing about their situation.  
"I appreciate you agreeing to this, Chris." Karen put to him softly.  
"You're welcome." His eyes sparkled a little. "Anything for you."  
"What do you think I should do?"  
"Well…I mean it's _your_ call. Personally I don't think you should stay with him any longer, for the simple fact that he's _hurt_ you. But if you feel that you love him too much to leave him, then it's going to turn into a really sticky situation. Especially between us."  
Karen gazed down at the table they were sitting at. "I don't know why I still love him." She felt his gaze on her. "Out of fear, I guess."  
"Out of fear that he'll hurt you if you don't do what he says?"  
She nodded dimly.  
"But you shouldn't have to live like that." Chris knew he had to do _something_ to help ease the pain she seemed to have felt. But he couldn't exactly spend the night at hers for the simple fact being that he didn't want her hurt. Maybe he didn't have to go as far as that…  
"Might as well face it, I'm _stuck_ in this situation, aren't I? I'll have to ride it out for as long as it takes for him to stop." _Like that will ever happen_, She thought worriedly.  
"Maybe not." He placed a hand on her arm, as if to tell her to hold that thought to herself. "How about I give you a lift back – but I make sure you get in ok?"  
"I guess…that makes sense." Karen supposed.  
"Well, let me put this question to you. Where is he most likely to be _before_ you come in?"  
She shuddered a little. "He usually lays in wait for me in the hall."  
"Good." Just as he thought. "Then I'll come in with you."  
"Chris, _no_. I can't let you do that. As soon as he sees _you_, he'll _attack_ you."  
Chris gazed into her eyes placidly. "Trust me with this. I'd rather _me_ get hurt than _you_."  
Chris gave Karen a lift back to hers, a little anxious at what he might come across as he made to accompany her inside and make sure she gets in, in one piece.  
"I'm going to apologise in advance for him." She put to him softly.  
"Why?"  
She flitted her gaze away from the young male's bright blue eyes, feeling tears reach them. "C-Chris, I just don't want you hurt."  
"Ssh…hey, it's ok. He might not even touch me." He placed a hand on her arm to give her _some_ sort of grounding. "We'll go in together…and if he tries anything on you, I will _stop_ him. Like I did before when he almost laid into you – and I'm not afraid to do that if it means _protecting_ you."

Karen reluctantly unlocked the door, as Chris wasn't that far behind her; at first, she was relieved not to see Charlie about anywhere, but she failed to notice a dark shadow behind both of them.  
There came a smash, almost like glass being broken, and then a loud thud.  
She sharply turned round to see Chris lying on the floor, seemingly unconscious.  
Charlie stepped out from behind the front door where he'd been hiding, and surveyed the small, slender form, showered with small pieces of glass, lying on the floor. "Well, I'd say I took a lucky guess that it was _him_." He smirked.  
Karen's gaze sharply flitted to him. "How _could_ you? He didn't even _do_ anything."  
"_Really_?" He put to her dryly. "So why did you take him here?"  
"He wanted to make sure I got in ok. Charlie, Chris and I are nothing more than friends." Although she could've begged to differ at that time. "He was _worried_ about me."  
"That's what they _all_ say."  
She bent down beside Chris's motionless form, not seeing any blood anywhere. It seemed like a simple, clear blow to the head, but he remained unconscious. He was probably unhurt enough for her to forego a visit to the A + E. "You can't _leave _him like this."  
Charlie stayed where he was. He was obviously enjoying the moment. "What makes you think I want to _help_ him, after what he's been doing to you?" He put to her drunkenly.  
Karen swept some of the young male's displaced dark bangs back to where they should've been over his forehead, as she carefully laid him onto his back. Glass had scattered all around him, giving her some idea of the force of the blow. "Then I'll _report_ you." She was thankful that he was still alive. She got her mobile out and dialled for the cops.  
"They'll only release me the next day." Charlie taunted.  
"Not if you intentionally tried to _kill_ him, they won't."  
"Well, maybe I should make it quick for him – it'll only take a second." The larger male went to swing the top of the smashed wine bottle downward, in an attempt to hit him again, but Karen manhandled him against the wall.  
"Don't you touch him again." She warned, as the police had arrived.  
Charlie was quickly seized and taken away, as she thought about taking the young male to bed.  
"It's ok now, Chris. He won't hurt you again." She reassured him, stroking the ends of his shiny bangs.


	14. Chapter 14

Karen stayed with Chris from the time she got him to bed to the time she decided to sit with him; she pulled the blankets up to his chest, keeping close tabs on his temperature as he still hadn't come round.  
She had never seen him sleep before; his eyelids were softly closed, and his broad chest rose and fell slowly, almost in a cautious sort of way.  
Karen had pulled up a chair next to the double bed, and placed a bowl filled with tepid water on the table by it; she dipped a cloth into it every so often, pressing it against the unconscious male's forehead and making the ends of his bangs a little bit wet in the process.

Chris had been out cold for some time; it wasn't till late evening when he _did_ slowly come round. His eyelids flickered a few times in the very soft, dim light and he stirred a little under the blankets.  
She carefully swept a hand over his forehead and through his bangs, as his stirring came more frequently. He jolted awake, finding himself gazing up at a white ceiling.  
"Where _am_ I?" He dimly asked.  
Karen smiled softly. "You've been out cold for a while."  
"All I remember is blacking out."  
She nodded shakily. "Charlie attacked you, Chris." She gazed down at the blankets, in an anxious way. "I was hoping it never came to that."  
"But we didn't see him." Chris protested.  
"No, he tried something new for a change – he was behind the door."  
"A big guy like _him_ could do _that_?" He felt his head hurt as he made to get up – only to have Karen lay him back down again.  
"You should stay here tonight." She supposed. "I don't think you're in any fit state to drive if you've got concussion."  
"I am _not_ concussed." He put to her helplessly, knowing that she wasn't very likely to let him go. "And where _is_ he?" He didn't at all want to retaliate, but he was more worried about where Charlie had _gone_. For all he knew, he could've been hiding in the bathroom waiting for him to wake up and punch his lights out again.  
She gazed at him carefully, sliding a few of his bangs, which had dried, back to their proper places. "The cops came and took him, you're safe."  
"What did he even _hit_ me with?" Chris rubbed the back of his head where he was hit, feeling it sting a little. "Whatever it was, it was a pretty good _shot_."  
"H-he was _drinking_." Karen explained shakily. "I don't even know what _drove_ him to do something so _stupid_."  
"It was a _bottle_?" Not through with wanting to sleep, he sat up so he could look at her better. "He knocked me out with a _glass bottle_?"  
She nodded shakily. "I'm sorry, Chris. It's all my fault that you've been pulled into all this."  
"Karen, don't say that." He placed a hand on hers, which was on top of his thigh through the blankets. "This is not your fault. If he hadn't have been an animal to start with, you would never have come to _me_ about it. And is that such a bad thing?"  
"I don't know what you mean."

Chris leant forward slightly, allowing the soft lights to filter into his bright blue eyes; in Karen's opinion, they looked _breathtaking_. "I meant the fact that you came to me about all of it." He smiled a little. "If you ask me, it seemed like you thought _I _was the best person to come to about things like that."  
"Well…you were the closest person I _could_ have ever come to." She put to him honestly. "We were both friends…"  
"…And you happened to be _attracted_ to me." He noted, tenderness present in his voice. She was also sure there was an air of audacity. "Well…that's a dangerous mix, don't you think, Mrs Fisher?"  
Karen didn't know what to say to that, as Chris gazed into her eyes longingly; he knew that he shouldn't push her into doing anything she didn't want, and he wanted to keep it that way. But the temptation was there…eating away at the pair of them.  
"I really wanna do so much to you." He added shamelessly, brushing his finger against her cheek. "But I've got to think about what _you_ want."  
She nodded. "I know. But I don't know how long that'll take."  
"It'll take as long as it has to." He admitted. "And even if it _does_ take a long time, I'll still be there for you, however hard that'll be for us to hold this in."  
"I don't want this to get complicated." She felt his touch blow her away. "But at the same time I don't want us to rush into doing anything we might regret."  
Chris drew in a deep breath, pulling himself closer to her. "It doesn't _have_ to be complicated. All I wanna know is whether you'll leave him or not. Because you can't love two people at once, Karen."  
Karen nodded shakily.  
"So what's your answer?"  
"Y-you." She almost gasped out in pleasure when his thumb slid itself along her lower lip. "I want _you_."  
"I want you, too." He said softly. "But I don't wanna _hurt_ you."

She was surprised she had any strength left in her because of how good Chris made her feel; she went to touch him, only to have him swiftly take hold of her hand and link his fingers with hers.  
"Don't do it." He put to her quietly. "Unless it's what you want."  
She leant further forward, and pressed her lips to his softly; they closed their eyes, savouring the shy yet extremely affectionate kiss.  
They softly pulled away, gazing into each other's eyes.  
Karen felt almost giddy from pleasure; fireworks exploded all over her at what they'd both done, and she was almost intoxicated. But she knew she couldn't let the impulsive feelings overtake her – she had to take it _slow_ with him.  
Chris sat back slowly, trying to make out what she was thinking; he tilted his head a little when he watched her start to undress herself, and he quickly followed.  
She slipped into bed beside him as he gave her enough room to get in, and gazed at him unsurely.  
"What is it you're not sure of?" He asked her softly.  
"I just…I don't know."  
He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to his body. "We don't even have to do anything naughty if you don't want to. I'm not going to force you into that."  
Karen closed her eyes at the warm feelings buzzing through her; she liked being held like that, it made her feel safe.  
"Or _do_ you want that?"  
"I want to take this slow."  
Chris pulled himself away from her slightly. "So do I, and I'm trying to respect that. But if you wanna take things further with me, I don't have a problem with it."  
She nodded steadily. "I _do_ want to take things further with you." She glided her hands down the sides of his slender body, stopping at his hips and snaking her arms around him, pulling him back against her again.  
He was almost sure his breath caught in his throat when he felt something glide down from his flat stomach to the spot in between his legs. He gasped when he was given a small squeeze at the most _intimate_ of areas.

Karen smiled softly at Chris's half-submissive response; she felt him squirm a little, and he pulled her beneath him, dexterously sliding himself on top of her. She was taken aback at how _quick_ he was.  
"Well…we're in a mess now." He taunted. He was surprised to feel her hands on his hips, pulling him fully down against her. "Are you sure this is what you want?"  
She gazed up at him sultrily. "Enough talking." She glided an index finger down the line of his spine. "And more of _this_." She pulled him further down for a kiss, and their lips crashed together.


	15. Chapter 15

The next morning.  
Karen and Chris woke up almost together, staring into each other's eyes.  
"Morning." He smiled softly, twirling some of her blonde hair around his fingers.  
"Morning to you too." She felt relaxed as he did that, and she traced her finger along the outline of his jaw. The sun had bathed him in a sultry shimmer; it made him look even _more_ attractive. "You're perfect."  
Chris coyly looked away, feeling a blush start at his cheeks. "I wouldn't go that far."  
"Modest as well, are you?" Karen slid her tongue along his lower lip, taking in its dewy texture. She heard him utter a soft gasp at the contact.  
He gazed over at the time. "I don't wanna go to work." He wrapped his arms around her as if to prove a point. "I wanna stay in bed with _you_ all day."  
She stroked his arm softly. "So do I. But we've got to go in."  
"I was thinking…" Chris swiftly rolled onto his side, facing Karen. "We could go out for lunch if you wanted…it'd make a change from staying in all the time."  
"Only if it's nice weather." She smiled softly.

It wasn't far off morning break.  
Chris came in, noticing Karen who was behind her desk.  
"Someone's looking very excited." She noted.  
He sidled up to her. "Well, I have every reason to be." He pressed his lips to hers and they swiftly withdrew from each other.  
She flitted her gaze up at the time. "Quarter of an hour…better make this quick, hadn't we?"  
"Why, what were you thinking of doing?"  
Without saying a word, she plunged her tongue into his mouth, startling him slightly; he closed his eyes in acceptance, playfully returning the favour. She gasped at his response, before they silkily pulled back.  
"Remember…we both go at the pace you want." Chris didn't think Karen needed reminding at that point, as she placed a hand on his back and pushed him up against her.  
"Of course. I hadn't forgotten." She smiled playfully, gazing into those big, bright blue eyes that shimmered into hers.  
"So…about going out." He pulled away a little. "If the weather outside _isn't_ very nice, what then?"  
She placed her hands on his small hips. "…I guess we'll both have to stay in."  
He swallowed. "And go where?"  
"Well…we could always stay right _here_." Her gaze became craftier, in a seductive kind of way. "If you wouldn't object to _that_."

It didn't take long for the rest of the afternoon to quickly go by.  
Karen flitted her gaze to Chris, who had come in. "Time for another quickie, is it?"  
"If that was what you _wanted_."  
They wrapped their arms around each other, giving each other a shy yet cautious kiss.  
"What were you thinking of doing tonight?" He put to her.  
She flitted her gaze away. "I guess really I should go back to _mine_. I don't think I can risk another night at not showing my face." She didn't even know if Charlie would even _be_ there after his violent outburst on both of them the previous night.  
"Karen, listen. Do whatever you feel is right. I know you're under the impression that he doesn't love you and he might well not. And you've already said to me that you don't have _that_ much contact with him. I trust you."  
Karen looked to Chris anxiously.  
"I know you wouldn't lie to me. Just because we're not officially a couple, doesn't mean we're not serious about each other."  
She nodded shakily.  
"We can go out or you can come over some other time. But I understand why you said that. You don't wanna make things worse between yourselves."  
"I'm glad you're being so understanding about this, Chris."  
"It's not a problem." He took hold of her hands and led her over to the window. "You take all the time you want in getting rid of him."  
"I'm close to _wanting_ to right now, after what he did."  
"I don't blame you for that. But if he _is_ there, try not to make anything worse. And don't mention to him that we _are_ together."

Later that night.  
Karen heard the lounge door open ever so slightly; she wished that Chris happened to just come in so they could huddle up together.  
Of course, much to her disappointment, it _wasn't _Chris, and was actually Harry.  
"What's wrong, love? Can't sleep?"  
He gazed at her in a startled sort of way. "A-are you and dad going to divorce?"  
"No. What makes you say that?"  
"I-I _saw_ you last night with _someone else_." He made it sound like it was some very bad nightmare. "In _bed_."  
Karen flitted her gaze this way and that; she hadn't expected _anyone_ to notice her and Chris in such a compromising situation. Not that she _regretted _what she did with him, far from it. What they did together was through emotion and affection – not the domineering nature _Charlie_ used when _they_ did so. She realised she couldn't _lie_ to him about what she did. "Harry…sometimes when parents love someone else, they don't love each other anymore. But what you saw last night wasn't anything naughty."  
Harry tilted his head in suspicion. "It _wasn't_?"  
"No. The person that you saw last night…" She was glad he didn't identify Chris either, else that wouldn't have been good for them. "…Was a special friend."  
"_Special_?"  
She didn't expect him to believe such a thing. But her and Chris were _not_ officially an item, however at the same time were _not_ screwing each other for the sheer hell of it. She nodded shakily.  
"Do you _love_ him?"  
"Who?" Karen snapped to.  
"Your special friend."  
She flitted her gaze away, thinking back to the previous night and what she _did_ to him. And what he did to _her_ was just something Charlie couldn't _ever_ do.  
Chris was passionate yet tender at the same time. Charlie was callous and insensitive during _their_ lovemaking.  
"Yes, I _do_ love him." She said eventually.  
"More than you love _dad_?"  
Karen turned to face Harry more. "What you must understand, love…is that you must _not_ tell anyone else about what you saw. Not even your sisters. And _especially _not your dad."  
He nodded obediently. "I promise."  
She smiled thankfully. "Go back to bed…before you manage to keep yourself awake all night."


	16. Chapter 16

The next morning.  
Chris heard his door open, and he peered up from what he was marking to see Karen standing in the doorway. "This is a nice surprise." He winked, as she closed the door behind her.  
He raised an eyebrow at how quiet she was. "Everything ok?"  
She perched herself on the corner of his desk. "Harry saw us last night."  
He swallowed hard and flitted his gaze away. "Karen…that's not good." He was suddenly worried. Exactly how much did Harry _see_ of what they were doing?  
"Don't worry, he told me last night and I told him the truth."  
Chris's gaze became more fixed and anxious. "You did what?"  
Karen placed a hand on his shoulder. "I just explained to him that we're special friends and that I didn't love Charlie anymore."  
He felt a _little_ better that she'd managed to soften the blow with him. But still, a lie was a lie. "We're _more_ than friends, though, Karen. Even _special_ ones at that." What was _her_ definition of special friends anyway? What was _that _all about?  
"I know, but I couldn't exactly say I was having sex with someone other than his _dad_, could I?"  
Chris knew she had him there. "Well…no. I guess not." He went to go back to his work. "Was that all you came down here for? To prewarn me about one of your kids seeing us make out that night?"  
Karen did not like it when he was _sarcastic_. It didn't suit him at all. "I only wondered what you were up to tonight…"  
"The usual. _Nothing_." He didn't want to be seen as some sort of bike, but he certainly felt like one. "Unless you were up for another night of sex like that night..."  
"Come on, Chris. Don't talk like that." She rubbed him a little, feeling him tense up slightly at the contact. "I know you don't mean it."  
"You're just making me sound like I'm just a bit of…you know…_fun_. And that's not what I want from this." He put to her steadily.  
"I don't want that either." Karen sat closer to him.  
"What day is it?"  
She was amused at his confusion. "Friday."  
Chris stopped writing. "You wanna go out tonight?"  
She was surprised at his suggestion. Initially he made it seem like he wasn't interested in going out with her because of the way she described him to _Harry_, but he must've let the whole situation go. It wasn't as though he would hold a personal vendetta against her for it. "Really?"  
He turned his body more to face her; her eyes fixed straight onto his flat middle. "But we can go out somewhere _better_ than the first time."  
Karen was speechless. "I don't want you to splash out _hundreds_ on us."  
"Just to prove to you that I _am_ as into you as you're making me out to be."  
"Chris, you don't have to go to that sort of length to prove anything." She felt herself get blown away when he took hold of her wrist and pulled her closer to him.  
"Karen, I _honestly_ love you." Chris put to her passionately. "I have _never_ felt for anyone else as I have for you."  
"I-I don't know what to say…"  
"You don't have to say anything." His eyes rested on hers in a tender sort of way. "All I want from you is to wait for me to pick you up."  
Chills slid down her spine and she suddenly felt nervous. "Ok…"  
He smirked playfully. "Good."

Karen did _not_ know what to wear, which was nothing unusual for her; she wanted to look _nice_ but not _trashy_ – not that she _ever_ did when she went out anywhere.  
She noticed Chris smoothly pulling up outside, and she immediately felt butterflies in her stomach, although realising she _had_ to calm down.  
Trying hard not to lose her head, she slowly got in, noticing Chris's bright blue eyes fixing themselves onto her darker ones.  
"Perfect." He smiled softly, leaning forward and giving her a kiss on her cheek.  
Karen noticed that he wasn't intending on pulling away just yet, and she frowned at what he was playing at.  
"I've got something for you." He pulled out what appeared to be a _rose_, but it wasn't a real one. "The real ones I _did_ see weren't that nice, so this was the next best thing to one."  
"C-Chris…I…" She was half-expecting it to be one of those _plastic_ ones, but it wasn't; it was a _paper_ one. "Don't tell me you _made_ this?"  
He shrugged modestly. "I was bored…but I guess it shows anyone you put more thought into it."  
Karen marvelled at the intricacy of it. "It looks like one of those _origami _ones people sometimes make."  
Chris started to pull away. "That's because it _is_."  
"Do you do these in your spare time? It looks _very_ well made."  
"No! No…" He smirked a little. "It took a bit of time – and attempts – to get it right."  
She slid her fingers along the "stem" of it. "Thank you."  
"No problem."

When they left, they got back into the car, where Chris gave Karen a reflective look.  
"What?" She asked him.  
"There's something I wanna do." He put to her softly.  
She smiled a little. "Really? What?"  
He didn't say straightaway, but turned the ignition on and went to reverse out. "You'll see."

Karen didn't know where they were both going, but Chris obviously _did_.  
It wasn't long before they came to a stop, and he turned to gaze at her slowly.  
"Come out. I've _got_ to show you this."  
Not knowing what to expect, she followed him out of the car, startled to find that they were quite high up from the main roads.  
He wrapped his arms around her waist as he slid up behind her, making sure she didn't scare herself silly and throw herself off the edge by accident. "Now _this_ is quite a sight."  
"I didn't realise we were up so high."  
Chris pulled her back onto firmer ground, and got her to sit down with him. "I used to come out this way a fair bit."  
Karen smiled softly. "What, with your other girlfriends?"  
"Most of the time." His bright blue eyes shone into hers. "But what I felt for _them_ was nothing compared to what I feel for _you_."  
She felt herself go all shy. "Chris, I…" She watched him tilt his head attentively. "I don't deserve all the attention you're giving me."  
"_Sure_ you do." He insisted, as he fished around in his back pocket for something. He eventually pulled out a very fine chain and pendant, almost similar, if not the same, to what he got her before Charlie broke it. "Keep this one safe."  
She felt herself get almost blown away when Chris slowly and carefully looped the fine chain around her neck and did it up at the back. "You didn't have to go to all that trouble to get me a new one…"  
"I didn't mind." He slid his fingertips around the small, shiny pendant, admiring the way it glistened against her neckline.  
Karen gazed at him dazedly. "Thank you." She placed her hand around his wrist, and gave him a small kiss on his lips.  
They brushed their noses playfully against each other before pulling away.  
"We should get back soon." He noted shakily, a hint of excitement in his voice. "Before the frost sets in."  
Her stomach felt like it was flipping over at the thought of what they would do when they got back.


	17. Chapter 17

As soon as they got back, Karen could _not_ take her eyes off Chris's slender figure from behind through his fitted jacket and his trousers that skimmed along his hips and down his legs.  
"I know what you're looking at." He remarked in a teasing singsong voice. He actually didn't mind being looked at in that sort of way and dare he say it, but it made him feel a little bit _sexy_.  
"Well, I'm sorry, Mr Mead, but I can't help but stare at you." She inched closer to him, but he wasn't aware of what she was playing at. "But you look so _good_ and I might have to _have _you."  
Chris gasped when he was brought up against the nearest wall, on his front; he closed his eyes when he felt a hand glide down his back and then subtly move even lower down.  
"My…you like _that_." Karen naughtily taunted, giving him a rub against his tailbone. "Are you getting excited?"  
"K-Karen…" He shuddered, feeling a blush start at his cheeks.  
"Maybe we should do something about that, then." She turned him round, bringing his back against the wall, and driving her hips up against his. "Can you think of anywhere we could possibly go?"  
A coyness shimmered in Chris's eyes, but there was a naughtiness about it.  
She patiently waited for his answer, but was startled when he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up into his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist. She convinced him.  
"Bed…now."

They kissed each other passionately, as Chris blindly carried Karen into his room; he managed to bring her down onto the bed and he slid on top of her.  
She closed her eyes as he covered her chest in sugar-soft butterfly kisses, still paying attention to how soft he should be with her. "Chris…" She gasped out, sliding her fingers through his dark bangs.  
He swiftly gazed up at her, worry crossing his face. "Karen…I'm sorry." He lifted his body up off her, and made to move off her. "I shouldn't have rushed into anything you didn't want."  
Karen nodded shakily. "It's ok, it's ok…you're doing fine." She spoke reassuringly.  
"What is it you wanna do?"  
His question was answered when she brought him down onto the bed, with her on top of him.  
His eyes dimmed in confusion.  
"All I want _you_ to do, is just lie there and look _pretty _for me." She slid her coat off, seductively undoing her halter neck top at the back with her trousers quickly following.  
Chris shuddered from excitement at seeing Karen sitting on top of him, completely nude. He knew it was _his_ turn, as she peeled his jacket off him, dropping that onto the floor. His shirt was then teasingly unbuttoned and disposed of, as she moved her hands to the belt on his trousers.  
She undid that and slid her fingers under the waistband of them, stroking him at his hips and making him gasp softly under her.  
"K-Karen…" He gazed up at her, his cheeks flushing from excitement. "What you're doing is naughty."  
Karen smirked naughtily. "Well, if that's so, maybe you should try to stop me." Hearing no further protest, she slid her fingers around the waistband on his boxers, disposing of them as quickly as she did with everything else.  
What she saw beneath her was a _beautiful_ sight.  
Slowly and carefully, she leant further down against Chris, kissing him at the subtle curve in between his neck and shoulder. He arched his back from the pleasurable surges pulsing through him.  
She moved her kisses further down, going to his flat stomach and inserting her tongue into the small recess of his navel; he twisted about more noticeably, only exciting her more at what her touches were doing to him.  
She slid her tongue down along the spot from under his navel to his pubic bone, causing him to shudder all over. She _had_ to steel herself for what she was going to do.  
Placing one hand under his back and the other on his flat stomach, she gazed at him carefully. "Can I do this to you?"  
Chris nodded shakily. "I-if you want…"  
"I don't want to hurt you."  
"You won't." His hips jolted a little from what she was going to do with him. "I trust you."  
Karen nodded steadily.  
The young male arched his back even more and thrust his hips upward as something warm yet moist encircled him. He closed his eyes at the pulling feeling, grabbing handfuls of the blankets and sinking his short nails into them, not caring if he ripped them all the way through.  
She closed her eyes at the different sensations coming into her; she heard Chris's excited, submissive cries as he twisted about on the bed. She actually found his noises quite cute.  
He continued to buck upwards, the pleasurable feelings getting stronger when she started to stroke him under his navel; his breathing turned hard and more laboured as he cried out and then excitably gasped from the release.  
"Was that good?" Karen pulled away from him, noticing a lustrous white trail from the result of his excitement down to his thigh.  
"One of the best." He shakily admitted, as he sat up.

She surveyed the "rose" that he made for her, sliding her fingers along its "stem". It was so meticulously made. "It's so pretty."  
_Not as pretty as you, _Chris thought to himself as he inched closer to her. "Are you sure everything is ok? You seem distracted."  
She pensively caressed the "petals" in an attempt to block out the horrible feelings she could feel coming.  
"It wasn't anything _I _did…was it?"  
Karen smiled at him. "No, don't be silly. It's nothing you've done."  
"Then what?"  
"Oh, nothing." She felt her defences give way when he rubbed her down her back. "It happened a long time ago, it's not worth worrying about."  
"It obviously is because of how it's affecting you." Chris put to her, trying to reassure her. "We've got plenty of time to talk about it."  
She lowered her head, still resisting the urge to explain to him. "I can't tell you tonight."  
"You wanna go out and talk about it?" He suggested. Maybe she needed nothing more than to settle her nerves if it was going to upset her. "Try and get you loosened up maybe. Although…it _is_ getting late to do that now."  
"Chris…" Karen mumbled out, as he wrapped his arms around her and carefully brought her back down onto the bed. Her muscles started to ache at keeping her repressed thoughts in check.  
"Get some rest for now…" Chris told her reassuringly.  
"B-but what if I have any bad dreams?"  
"_I'm _here, aren't I?" He slid under the blankets, taking her with him. "And I'm not going anywhere."  
"I'm afraid I'll _hurt_ you."  
He held her close in his arms, their bodies pressed together. "Close your eyes."


	18. Chapter 18

Saturday morning.  
Chris felt the sun's bright rays filter in through the window and flare across his eyelids; he slowly opened his eyes, finding himself curled up against Karen's equally warm body.  
Content that there were no major incidents during the night, he pulled her further up to him, feeling her stir and give in to his touch.  
He smiled softly at her reaction and slid his fingertips along the ends of her bangs that had been swept back a little. To him, it was good that she was getting more sleep as she'd lost some from previous nights and she was under some anxiety to top it all off.  
Karen stirred some more an hour later, whilst Chris was simply happy to watch her sleep as he placed her bangs to the way they should've been.  
Her eyes opened, and she tensed up a little; he softly placed a hand on her shoulder, as if to ground her. She gazed up at him and relaxed as she realised he was peering down at her.  
"How do you feel?"  
She placed a hand around his wrist. "So much better."  
He swept his hand against her forehead. "You're not as tired?"  
She shook her head steadily. "I still want to talk."  
Chris leant further over Karen, lowering his lips down onto hers for a coy kiss. "We can still do that. The important thing for now is that you've got more sleep."  
"So what now?" She put to him, cupping his face with one hand and skimming her thumb across the contour of his cheekbone.  
The touch sent warm tingly feelings through his body. "Well…we _could_ get up." He noticed her crestfallen expression. "Or we could spend a few more extra hours in bed."  
"Doing what?" She didn't really need an answer from him, as he pressed his lips against hers again for a more shameless kiss.  
"Do I really need to answer that?" Chris smirked playfully. "Unless…you just wanna cuddle up for now." He didn't know what it was that Karen wanted to talk to him about. For all _he_ knew, it could've related to something Charlie did, or maybe something had happened even further back than that.  
"I think I just want to be held for now." She admitted honestly. "I feel good just to hug you." She felt _exceptionally _warm at being so close to him. Even the faint sweet, yet musky scent of him relaxed her even more. It was a _familiar_ scent, one that made her feel safe.  
He wrapped his arms around her, stroking her up and down her back in order to help her relax.  
Karen drew in a deep breath, happy to lie there and let Chris stroke her the way he was. He made her feel _secure_. Charlie _never_ did. "I can't remember the last time I ever woke up feeling like this."  
"Feeling like what?"  
She smiled softly. "Like I just want to drift off and stay like this forever." She slid her hands over his strong shoulder blades, feeling the rounded contours of them under her touch.  
"I would _never_ hurt you." He said finally, giving in to her affectionate touch. "You know that, don't you?"  
"I know you'd never hurt me." She gazed up at him sleepily, feeling his stroking ease her back to sleep. "Chris, you _protect_ me. And I know you'd look after me as you _have_ done."

Later that night, both of them got ready to go out.  
Karen felt warm as Chris wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and pressed the front of his body up against her back.  
He sweetly planted a kiss on her cheek, taking in the sweet scent on her skin.  
"Oh, I see…finding it hard to keep your hands off me?" She assumed teasingly, placing her hands on his wrists.  
"Well…you _are_ making it hard for me, you know." He shot back at her. "Dressed the way you are."  
She turned round, their bodies pressing together; her hands moved to his small hips, skimming her thumbs over the crests of them.  
He gasped softly against her, excitement pulsing through him. "W-we should wait."  
"Well…we _could_ always skip dessert." Karen took in the same sweet yet musky scent on Chris's skin, feeling so tempted to have him right there and then. "And just have it here instead."  
He quivered slightly as her hands drifted to the tops of his thighs.  
"I was thinking about having _you_ instead."  
"We should go." He put to her steadily, pulling away a little. "Before we lose our place."

Halfway through, Karen had held off the opportunity to tell Chris what was bothering her, but he did the same thing as he did before – which was to be patient with her and not force her into saying anything when she really didn't want to.  
He poured out some wine for both of them. Maybe some of that might've loosened her up a little bit.  
He didn't have long to wait till she actually decided to steel herself for what she was going to say.  
"I'm not a big wine drinker." She started dimly.  
"Neither am I." He leant further forward, noticing a sadder hue in her dark eyes. To him, it was a strange thing to see.  
"In fact, I don't drink a _lot_ of alcoholic stuff." Karen looked away, noticing Chris seemed to look a little more worried. "Not since what happened when I went abroad one year."  
"Why, what happened?" He asked her softly, knowing that he was asking for it by wanting her to elaborate on something that seemed to be traumatic for her.  
She drew in a deep breath. "I don't know if I should really tell you, Chris."  
"You don't _have_ to, Karen. If you don't feel like saying, then don't. But I don't mind if it comes out as graphic as you mean for it to."  
She flitted her gaze away, dreading to think what the hell he would've thought of her when she actually did tell him. Would he end up feeling disgusted with her? Well, there was no reason why he _would_, but people had various thoughts on what happened during that _one_ night. "I wasn't even that old, maybe fourteen or fifteen. But the age of consent was a lot lower over in that country when it came to drinking. Anyway, I was on my own and this foreign guy…" Her voice tailed off into a sob, prompting Chris to ground her by placing his hands around her wrists over the table. "He started to…_touch_ me." She could feel those same icy hands wander over her flesh as she said that. "Afterwards, he wanted me to go to his hotel room. This all happened at the hotel we were staying in – my mum and I – but there was no one else around as it was quite late."  
He nodded in acknowledgement.

"I-I told Charlie about this some time ago, but he blamed me for it."  
Chris frowned a little. To him, that didn't seem right.  
"I feel so dirty because of it all."

"No, _don't_ feel like that." He told her reassuringly. "That wasn't even your fault. You were at a young age – what could you have done about it?"  
She felt a few tears come, but they didn't fall.  
"That's probably why you wanna take this slow, isn't it?"  
She nodded slowly. "Also because Charlie _assaulted_ me before you and I got together."  
He peered down at the table steadily. "It all contributes, doesn't it?"  
"I guess…"  
Chris thought back a little. "And don't ever think you don't deserve me, because you do."  
Karen nodded shakily. "Why did Charlie even blame me for it?"  
He gazed back up at her. "He probably didn't understand." The flames from the candles flickered into his bright blue eyes. "I mean it's not the first time I've heard of something like this."  
"I don't want to get help for it, I just needed to tell someone."  
"Am I the only other person you've actually told?"  
She nodded. "That's awful, isn't it?"

"Well…not so much awful, but it's understandable why." Chris looked at the time, realising how late it had gotten. "I'm just glad that you told me rather than bottling it up all the while. Because doing things like that isn't exactly healthy."  
"Thanks." Karen smiled softly. "I'm glad you understand."  
"Not a problem." He stroked her a little. "Shall we head back?"


	19. Chapter 19

Sunday morning.  
Karen woke up, seeing Chris still asleep with his arms wrapped round her; she stroked him comfortingly, and he stirred slightly. She found his movements adorable, as he brought himself closer to her and his eyelids twitched a few times, before settling back down again.  
A few minutes passed and he slowly wandered into consciousness. His eyes opened and he found himself gazing into her eyes. "Hey." He mumbled dimly.  
"Hey yourself." Karen smiled softly, sweeping her hand over Chris's forehead and through his shiny dark bangs.  
"Sleep well?"  
"Not as well as _you_." She moved an index finger along the underside of his jaw, tracing it teasingly. "You were out like a light."  
He sat up, rubbing the sleep out of one of his eyes as it had made his eyelid feel heavy.  
"Thanks for being so understanding last night."  
"That's what I'm here for." He gazed at her carefully. "It's not easy having to tell someone about something like that."  
Karen placed a hand on his shoulder. "Does it bother you that we haven't really…done it yet?"  
"No, not really." Chris stated honestly. "I'm just happy to do things at _your_ speed. And when the time comes for when you _wanna_ do it, then I'll be as careful as you want me to be. I will _not_ hurt you."  
"I know you won't. I trust you." She rubbed him reassuringly. "I trust you _more_ than anyone else."  
He tilted his head in confusion as he watched her get up. "You're _going_?" He sounded crestfallen, and dare he say it, a little offended.  
"I _should_ go back." She admitted sadly. "In case Charlie has been let out and has gone back."  
"And so what if he _has_?" Chris sat up more upright. "Karen, you shouldn't be letting him control you. You're with _me_ now."  
Karen had finished getting dressed. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. I _am_ still married to someone else and I'm sleeping with you."  
"You _cannot_ be involved with two different people." He stated. "This isn't fair."  
"Chris, I _do_ feel something for you. But I can't cheat on him with you." She sat on the side of the bed, trying her best to ignore the distressed look that he'd given her. She felt _awful_ for putting him in such an awkward situation. "Thanks for having me over this weekend, though. I'm sorry I have to do this."  
Karen made to leave the room, when Chris's voice faintly came from behind her.  
"Is this all I'm _ever_ going to be to you?"  
She turned round, seeing him still sitting up in bed; his bright eyes had started to glisten with tears, making him look like a badly kicked puppy. She felt even worse at seeing him so hurt.  
"Like I'm just a bit of fun?" There came a sniffle. "That was what I didn't want out of this."  
She came back over to him, sitting quite close to him and wiping away a stray tear that had rolled down his cheek.  
"A-and I don't understand why you've chosen _him_ over me." Chris's voice came out faint and pale, almost like he couldn't believe what she was doing to him. His body hurt all over from how bad she'd made him feel.  
"I feel _something_ for you, but I'm not sure what." Karen put to him softly, gazing into his glistening blue eyes. "And beautiful as you are, I shouldn't run the risk of sleeping with you if I'm with someone else."  
"But he _hurts_ you." He didn't feel any better as she stroked another tear away. "And we made it clear how we feel about each other."  
"I'm sorry, Chris…" She felt him shudder against her. "I'm so sorry."

Karen got into the house. "Harry?"

No answer.

"Charlie?" She called out, anxiously.

Still no answer.

Frowning, she made her way upstairs, finding Harry lying in amongst the bedcovers; her blood ran cold when she saw Charlie sitting ominously nearby.  
"Come back from your toy boy's flat, have you?" His eyes glinted portentously. "I thought I warned you not to do that anymore."  
She could take in a faint scent of alcohol that was hovering over him. "How long have you been there?"  
"Long enough to figure out where you were." He gazed down at Harry, who was still asleep. "I knew he wouldn't let me down."  
Karen faltered in the doorway. "You forced him to tell you?"  
"Well…I talked him into spying on you." Charlie got up, coming over to her in a threatening way. "From what I heard, you and _him_ have been at it like rabbits."  
She glared at him. "It wasn't like that."  
"So after the cops took me, you slept with _him_ in _our_ bed." His voice had a strong hint of revulsion in it. "Things like that disgust me, Karen."  
"It's _over_ between us, Charlie." She put to him steadily. "I want you _out_."  
"You think you can _kick me out_? What, just like _that_?" He pushed her up against the wall. "You're forgetting your place."  
Karen closed her eyes, knowing full well what Charlie was capable of. She waited for him to hit her, at least put her out of her misery in a quicker way. "You _hurt_ him."  
"He had it coming to him."  
She opened her eyes, her glare becoming harder still.  
"So who _is_ he? This "_special friend_" of yours?" He taunted callously.  
Karen shook her head. "I'm not telling you." She managed to pull herself away, locking herself in the bathroom quicker than he could grab her.  
She hastily dialled Chris's mobile number, praying he would pick up. He didn't.  
"C-Chris…when you get this please come here."  
The door was forced off its hinges from Charlie's frequent attempts to push it open, and he forcefully grabbed her by the collar of her coat, pitching her against the landing wall. "So _Chris_ is in on it too, is he?" He snarled out. "You trust _him_ enough to keep your dirty little secrets private, is that what this is?"  
"I've been _seeing_ him, Charlie." Karen wept out, giving in to his threatening behaviour. "Chris and I have been…"  
His eyes came over hard and dark. "I _knew_ there was something going on with you two. The pair of you…_at it_ together. _You _were sleeping with _him _when you were still married to me. You dirty little _tart_."  
"And when he gets my message, he'll sort you out."  
Charlie stood back nonchalantly. "I'd like to see him _try_." His voice dripped with sarcasm. "He wouldn't last _seconds_."


	20. Chapter 20

Both Karen and Charlie heard someone at the door; she gazed over at him worriedly, wanting to answer it.  
He flitted his gaze to her ominously, the knife's blade glinting at her as if to make her stop. "Go on."  
She shakily answered it, seeing Chris standing on the doorstep; he immediately looked worried.  
"W-what's happened?"  
She shook her head. "I can't tell you. You have to come in."  
"Not till you tell me what's wrong." He knew something was wrong and he did not like it. He felt her hands on his wrists, pulling him inside. "Karen…!"  
Charlie came into the hall, gazing at the smaller male as Karen held onto his wrists in a more vulnerable way, as if to seek protection from him. "Wondered when you would turn up."  
"I'm sorry, I don't know what…"  
He pushed Chris up against the wall, his spine colliding with it and sending jolts of pain through his body. "I think you know full well."  
"Charlie, don't…" Karen protested, as he sharply turned round.  
"And I don't want another word out of _you_." He spat out. "You've done just about enough."

Chris did not like where it was all going when he saw the larger male back away from him and swipe a hand violently across her face. A hard slap was heard, and he flinched at how painful it sounded.  
"You dirty little _whore_."  
She quivered from the pain and from what he did, and she backed away slightly.  
"There was no need for that." Chris knew he shouldn't have opened his mouth, but he didn't like the fact being that Charlie could _hit_ her or even call her nasty things like that.  
The larger male came back over to him and dealt a violent, heavy blow to his stomach; he couldn't even stay standing up. "And as for _you_…well…"  
"Leave him alone." Karen shot out. "This wasn't his fault."  
"But he got _involved_, didn't he?" A kick was dealt to his side, causing him to cry out in pain. "That doesn't make it any better for either of you."  
Chris tried _desperately _to protect himself and stop the blows from coming, but it was of no use; his body hurt all over and he was losing the strength to even stay _awake_.  
Charlie gazed down at him, almost pleased with what he'd done to him. "Just as I _thought_, he _wouldn't_ last seconds with me."  
She felt chills pass through her, when he wielded the knife more ominously.  
"Maybe this'll make it all better." He put to her darkly.  
"Don't." Karen protested. "Don't even _think_ it."  
Chris had given up trying to stay awake for much longer, and simply lay there; he felt weak all over and was zoning out quicker than anyone anticipated. He closed his eyes and waited to lose consciousness – at least that way it would dull the pain from having a knife go into him.  
"Or maybe I should go for the more painful option." Charlie put the knife away. "Maybe I will."  
She went to kneel down next to the barely conscious male and make sure he was ok, before being hauled back.  
"Now it's _your_ turn."  
Karen was brought into the bathroom and was roughly stripped. "Oh, so here we go again."  
"Shut your mouth." He warned her dangerously. "Or you'll end up _worse_ than _him_."  
Before things really did get much worse, she pushed him against the wall, causing him to hit his head and lose consciousness; managing to dress herself, she made to check up on Chris, noticing he'd disappeared.  
Her pulse raced. But she saw him just _lying_ there! Did he suddenly wake up? And where would he have gone?  
"C-Chris?"  
She hurriedly checked everywhere, realising with sheer worry that he'd actually gone missing. He wouldn't have left her to be…well…potentially raped under knifepoint – unless he didn't _know _and just simply tried to get away.  
But Karen was _more_ worried that Chris was _hurt_. She _felt _the intensity of the blows being dealt to him. She _saw_ him almost come to the point of unconsciousness, and then possibly fade away right in front of her. He could _not_ simply go missing!  
Could he?

Chris felt his ribs _hurt_.  
He positioned himself on a low wall, trying to get _some _of the fresh air into him, even if it meant trying to control his breathing that had become weak from the blows he had dealt to him.  
He felt faint, almost like he was _tipsy_, but he knew full well he hadn't been drinking, and it wasn't even something he could control very well. Every now and then he zoned in and out of consciousness, attempting to get _some_ idea of what had happened and how badly hurt he was.  
"You ok, mate?" A familiar voice came from behind him.  
Chris wrapped his arms around his stomach area, feeling the pain worsen. He felt like almost doubling over and staying like that till it disappeared, but it was more likely that it wouldn't go without help.  
A hand placed itself on his shoulder. "Chris?" The voice sounded more worried, almost panic-stricken.  
Unable to stay awake or control his erratic breathing for much longer, he gave in to the weakness, collapsing onto the ground.  
The slightly larger figure knelt down beside him, and placed a hand against the side of his face; his skin had become a little sweaty. What from, they didn't know. "God, Chris, how many did you have?"  
The young male said nothing, but felt the darkness creep over him quicker by the second. He was finding it hard to move, the lack of strength clouding him.  
They shakily dialled for an ambulance. "You've really done it to yourself this time, mate."

Chris understood very little about what was happening to him.  
He found himself lying on his back and was being taken through from what he could make out as a corridor, which was brightly lit.  
There were voices above him, but he couldn't even make out what they were saying; he felt cold and sick, and the crushing feelings in his ribs and back weren't making him feel any better.  
Something sharp and then cold passed through him, and he flinched in response to it.  
Within seconds, his eyelids felt heavy and he gave in to the darkness overtaking him.


	21. Chapter 21

Tom stood in the hospital's waiting room, not knowing where to look; the door opened and Karen came in.  
"I got here as soon as I got your message." She looked even more worried than him, which confused him slightly. "Where is he?"  
"They've just taken him to the ward." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Probably getting him to settle."  
She nodded in acknowledgement. "I wondered where he'd gone."  
"So _you_ let him do that?" Tom put to her, horrified. "I thought you of all people would be trying to make him stop."  
"Tom, this wasn't his fault." Karen protested.  
"Wasn't his fault that he pretty much _drank_ himself to death?" He suddenly came over more protective of Chris. "You know the states he _gets_ in when he's had a few?"  
"He was _not_ drinking." She gazed at him steadily. "Charlie assaulted him."  
He came over a little shocked. "B-but Karen…I found him outside. He looked _drunk_."  
"Where did you find him?"  
"Well…not far from where I _live_." Tom thought back. "Are you sure he hadn't been drinking at _all_?"  
Karen shakily looked away, suddenly feeling sick. Chris had gone all that way, when he was badly injured...what on earth _possessed_ him to do that? And why won't Tom believe _her_ side of the story? He looked perfectly sober when he turned up! "Tom, I literally only saw him when he came over. As far as I know, he hadn't _touched_ anything."  
"Well, take a seat for now." He placed a hand on her back and helped her to sit down on the nearest chair; he positioned himself on the one next to her. "They need to get him settled first."

In the corridor lining the wards, Tom was talking with the doctor who had been looking after Chris, trying to get a better idea of how unwell he was.  
After much talking, he came back over to her. "We need to let him recover."  
"Tom, I need to see him." She insisted.  
"We can't see him, he's not awake." He rubbed her back. "Give him a day or so…he'll wake up when he's ready."  
She nodded weakly.  
"He'll be _fine_, Karen…he's a strong kid." 

A day had passed.  
Karen could barely come into work, which bothered Tom; he went round to see her when the last of his sets was over, in an attempt to find out more about what was going on.  
She let him in, not knowing why he was round. "Have you heard from the hospital?"

"No, still nothing." He sat down next to her in her lounge. "Is there something I should know about, Karen?"  
"No. I don't think so." She flitted her gaze to the floor. "Something like what?"

"Like why you weren't in today would be a good start." Tom came closer to her. "It isn't because of Chris, is it?"  
She nodded faintly. "I don't think I can work without him."  
"But you're _not_ without him. He's still alive." He put to her reassuringly, a bit confused at what Karen had said. "Has something happened between you guys?"  
She closed her eyes in an attempt to stop the tears from falling. It didn't work. "Chris and I have been seeing each other, Tom."  
Tom was _shocked_ at this revelation. "_What_?"  
"I know. I know it seems bad, but Charlie had been assaulting me, and I came to him for help."  
"I think you wanted _more_ than just help from him."  
"Tom, please understand. Both of us knew what we were doing. I wanted to go slow with Chris, he _understood_ that." She shuddered a little. "That's why I don't want him to get sicker."  
"He _won't_ get sicker. Not when he's got people looking after him." He assured her. "I can't help but feel what you guys are doing is a bit…risky."  
"We weren't together." Karen peered back up at Tom. "Not when _this_ happened."  
Tom heard his mobile go off and he answered it. It was from the hospital, and he was on that call for some time.  
She looked worried as he hung up.  
"Doctors say that we can see him." He told her faintly.  
A wave of relief washed over her. "Thank god he's better."  
"Only _mildly_ better for now." He had to remain cautious; as with any illness or injury, Chris could get better and then worse, and vice versa.  
"Please take me up there." Karen pleaded with him.

Every muscle in his body felt heavy; his eyelids flickered unsteadily before he allowed them to open.  
He sat up, feeling his back stiffen from being positioned in bed for so long.  
"Relax, relax…it's ok now."  
Two hands at each of his sides held him back down in bed, denying him the chance to get up and get out.  
"Try and get some sleep…"

Karen shakily peered up at the doctor who had entered the waiting room.  
"He's awake if you want to see him." He told her and Tom, who had been pacing the floor.  
They waited outside the ward Chris was kept in, as a nurse came out.  
"He's still very weak so try and go slow with him." She told them reassuringly.  
Tom went in first, seeing the smaller male wrapped up in a few blankets; he looked pale and weak, but otherwise awake. "Hey there, mate. How are you holding up?"  
"Feel so tired and sick."  
Karen came in, immediately prompting Chris to want her to sit with him. "Thank god you're awake."  
"Did he hurt you?" He peered up at her sleepily, as she slid her fingers through his dark bangs.  
"He tried to rape me again, but I got away in time."  
He nodded in acknowledgement. "Sorry."  
She smiled softly. "Sorry for what?"  
"For not stopping him." A wave of nausea hit his stomach, and he lay back down in order to ease it.  
"Chris, don't worry about that. Try and get some sleep – so you can get your energy back." Karen planted a kiss on his forehead. "I love you."  
Tom hovered by the door, overhearing their conversation, and also watching the way they were being with each other; they were _unusually_ close, almost intimate.  
_God only knows what they do when they have their breaks together_, he thought to himself.  
He felt a stab of jealousy when he watched her slide a stray bang back to where it should've been. Why the hell did he suddenly feel _jealous_? Was it because of how close they were? Perhaps so. Or was it because of the sheer perplexity of why Karen had managed to get someone so _young_ compared to her?  
Either way, he had to get the jealous feelings to stop – before he got into _her_ bad books, or before he destroyed his friendship with _Chris_.


	22. Chapter 22

The next day.  
Karen sat beside Chris, as he lay asleep; the doctors had said for him to try and get as much sleep as he could so as to get his energy back.  
"How is he?" Tom came in from going down to the hospital's canteen. He handed her a coffee, which she took thankfully.  
"Still no different." She took in his sleeping form, sweeping a stray bang back to where it should have been. "How long will it _take_ for him to get better fully?"  
"These things take time, don't they?" He assured her.  
She shook her head. "I just want him _better_, Tom."  
A silence fell over them for some time, the only sound coming from the monitors in the room.  
"He really means that much to you, doesn't he?"  
Karen nodded weakly. "What was he like when you found him?"  
Tom shook his head. "He looked like he was ready to keel over. And he came over all pale." He gazed at her more. "Are you sure he hadn't been drinking?"  
"I'm _positive_." She put to him. "By the time he came over, he was _fine_." _Before Charlie laid into him_, she thought to herself defensively.  
"But you only saw him as of when he came over. What he did before then you don't really know. He could've gone out…"  
"And you would know, would you?" She cut him off finely. "Tom, I _know_ Chris. He wouldn't go off out and get drunk."  
"He _has_ done in the past." Tom knew he was elaborating slightly, but he couldn't get this idea out of his head that Chris had seriously done so. Whether it was because he was still _young_, he wasn't sure. But _anything_ was possible. "You don't know what he did before that time."  
Karen shook her head. "What are you trying to get at?"  
"I think you should end it with him." He told her bluntly.

"What?"  
"Karen, _think_ about it. You two work closely together and he goes off and does things like this. You think you could trust him?"  
"I trust him enough."  
"But you don't know what he did." Tom put to her again, more steadily. "By ending it with him, neither of you would be putting your positions in danger."  
She nodded weakly. "Ok, if it really bothers you that much that he'd gone and cheated on me…"  
"I'm not saying he cheated on you, I'm saying he _might've_ provoked Charlie when he attacked him. And with quiet people like Chris, he could've gotten easily wound up if he was _drunk_. You know as well as I do he wouldn't do it under normal circumstances."

Karen knew she begged to differ with Tom's assumption, but he wasn't backing down. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to break it off for a little bit…

At that moment, Chris's eyes slowly opened, and she sat closer to him, taking hold of his wrist.  
"Hey." She stroked him there comfortingly. "How do you feel?"  
"Like I've been hit by a truck."  
She smiled at his comment, trying to ignore Tom's hard gaze, which she could only interpret as "break it off or _I _will."

"I hate being in places like this." He told her honestly.  
"I know, but at least you're somewhere people can look after you."  
He shivered. "If that's what you call it."  
Karen gazed up at Tom as he hovered by the door, and then turned back to the younger male. "Do you feel like anything?"

"Like what?"  
"You want a drink?" She guessed that because Chris had been asleep and not feeling well, he wouldn't have eaten or drank anything. And if it meant him getting his energy back, something loaded with sugar might've helped.  
"I don't think I'm allowed anything." He gazed at her drowsily.  
"I'll see what they've got." Tom went to go, before gazing at Karen knowingly.  
Karen slid her fingers through his bangs.  
"So how long am I in here for?"  
"We don't know, Chris." She put to him. "Probably until your ribs have started to heal and the bruising has gone down."  
He nodded faintly. "I couldn't even _breathe_, Karen. Not very well, anyway."

"Well, don't worry for now. Charlie's not going to hurt you again."  
Chris had come over weak and tired, whether it was from the lack of sugar, he didn't know. The doctors had attached him to a few lines, but they could've been giving him painkilling drugs, as he certainly felt a little dizzy.  
"Everyone's worried about you." Karen told him softly. "Especially Tom and I. And we don't want you hurt again, Chris."  
"I won't be now, will I?"  
She had to admit, he had her there. "I think it's better if we don't see each other."  
"Has Tom put you up to this?" He assumed blankly. "Is this all because he _found_ me?"

"He's just worried about you, he's your _friend_." Now that was a _huge_ lie to have told him!  
Chris felt like he couldn't be bothered to go into much of the conversation. "So in terms of not seeing each other…what does that mean? We don't _work_ together?"  
Karen smiled softly. "We'll remain _friends_, that won't change. And we _can_ still work together. But that would have to be it."  
He drew in a deep breath. "So that's _it_ then."  
Tom came back. "I didn't know what you wanted, mate. But I figured something with sugar would help."  
He nodded faintly. "Thanks, I think."  
He frowned at Chris's remark before flitting his gaze to Karen. "Is he all right?"  
She nodded dimly.  
The nurse came in, seeing if the lines needed to be changed. "Come on, you naughty boy. No _snacking_." She confiscated the chocolate, only to have Tom take it.  
"That's my fault. I got that for him."

"He's nil by mouth, I'm afraid." She swept a hand over Chris's forehead, feeling him burn up a little. "I think someone needs to get some more sleep."

"But I'm not…" His protest was interrupted when a thermometer was put into his mouth.  
The nurse pulled it back out, fussing over how high it was. "That's it for you, Chris. Lie down and close your eyes." She made him lie back down, folding the blankets in to stop him from putting up much of a fight. Not that he did or was _able_ to, of course.  
Karen felt awful at having to tell him it was over between them. "I'll come back tomorrow and see you, Chris. Ok?"  
"Don't bother." Chris mumbled out tiredly, rolling onto his side to have his back to them.  
"Just because it's over between us doesn't mean I don't _care_ about you." She placed a hand on his shoulder, only for him to shrug it off. "Please don't be like this."  
"Karen, come on." Tom placed his hands on her shoulders. "He needs to sleep."

Chris didn't manage to sleep at all.  
He lay awake in bed, staring up at the ceiling, which he could _just_ about make out through the darkness.  
All the lights in the hospital wards had been switched off as it had gone past bedtime for all the other patients, and he felt like he was the only one still awake.

He rolled onto his stomach, gazing up at the window; he wanted to get _out_, but he thought back to what Karen had said. He was in the best possible place as he was being looked after, but he didn't know _what_ to believe with her anymore.  
Deciding to have enough, he managed to squirm out of bed, even with the blankets tightly folded in to stop him from doing so; he felt cold as he'd been undressed and only had his t-shirt left on but he still wanted to get out. He removed the oximeter that had been clipped to him and made sure any _remaining_ tubes and cables had also come away.  
Chris set himself down on the floor, his legs feeling weak and shaky; he leant back against the bed, realising with stark horror that it was probably because he hadn't used his legs for quite some time and had weakened.  
"Out of bed, Chris?"

He closed his eyes, as the weakness intensified and caused him to flop into the nurse's arms.  
"It's ok, your leg muscles are a little weak from being immobile." She went to help him back into bed. "What were you doing out of bed anyway, silly?"  
"I wanna go home." He put to her bluntly.  
This was nothing new to her. He was probably still poorly and tired. "It's ok, you _are_ home." She folded the blankets back in even more, and swept her hand over his forehead. "Try and relax, ok?"  
Chris crossly gazed up at the ceiling, folding his arms across his chest; no matter what drugs they would give him, they would _not_ make him fall asleep.


	23. Chapter 23

The next morning.

The doctor came through the number of wards where Chris was kept; he could hear a commotion coming from the shared bathroom, which all the patients used.  
The door opened and he was slowly brought out with the nurse holding onto him for good measure.  
"Everything ok, nurse?" The doctor asked her worriedly.  
"He was a little sick." She sat him down on the bed, sweeping a hand over his forehead. "Probably from the lack of sleep."  
He frowned at this. "He didn't sleep too well?"  
"No, he couldn't drop off at all last night." She noticed Karen and Tom had arrived.  
"There's nothing wrong with me." Chris mumbled out drowsily, as he was helped back into bed.  
The doctor wanted a quick word with Tom, whilst Karen was allowed to sit with him and keep him company.  
"Chris didn't sleep that well last night." He told him steadily.  
"Well…he's in a hospital. And I know he doesn't like hospitals all that much." Tom assumed.  
"I'm worried that he could go on to experience some form of trauma." He put to him.  
Tom gazed over at Chris, as he didn't seem to want to talk to Karen at _all_. What they were talking about the previous day was obviously still on his mind.  
"If he _does_ go on to experience any trauma, it's important that he comes back to get properly assessed for any mental problems."  
"So now you're saying the kid's mentally sick?" To himself, he probably thought it was self-inflicted anyway – especially if he was trolleyed.  
The doctor shrugged. "It's just a precaution. And especially because of what he'd been through." He handed him a card. "Give this to him and explain to him my concerns for him."  
"When can he go?" Tom wanted to know.  
"He's all yours now."

Karen softly placed a hand on Chris's back, as he refused to talk to her or make any form of contact with her.  
Tom came up beside her. "Is he all right?"  
She nodded. "He's still being difficult."  
He frowned a little at being labelled 'difficult'. How dare she suggest something like that?  
"Well, he can go home now. He's being discharged."  
"Really, that's it?" She was happy at hearing that.

All through the drive, Chris still maintained his silence with Karen and Tom, as they took him back to his flat.  
"You want me to…?" Tom offered, as Karen made to get him out.  
"I don't mind. He might not want to talk but he _will_ want to go to his _own_ place."  
Chris was taken into his flat and put straight to bed; he gazed up at the ceiling, avoiding eye contact with her.  
"You know, this can go on for as long as it takes, Chris." She put to him softly. "But both of us are going to want to look after you."  
"I don't need looking after." He eventually managed to open his mouth. "I just need to sleep." He sounded almost _ungrateful _for letting them even attempt to bother about him.  
Karen drew in a deep breath. "Well…if you _ever_ feel like changing your mind, you can always let either of us know."

"Whatever…" Chris buried himself in amongst the blankets and rolled onto his side away from her.

Karen shakily got back into Tom's car.  
"Is he all right?"  
She smiled softly. "Pretty much his normal self."  
"Suppose we should carry on to work…" He went to drive off, when she placed a hand on his arm.  
"Let's go for a talk." She suggested.

They both sat in the bar together, talking amongst themselves; Chris did _not_ escape their conversation once throughout.  
"I worry about him." Tom admitted honestly.  
"Really?" Karen flitted her gaze to him.  
He nodded. "Well, he's still young, isn't he? And if he's as obstinate as you say he is…"  
"Tom, he didn't want to _talk_ to me all the time we were there with him." She flitted her gaze away again. "He must've taken the break up worse than I thought."  
"This is for his own good, though, and for _yours_."  
Karen failed to see _why_. "I just know in the back of my mind that he wasn't drinking."  
"Alcohol does bring out the worst in people. I mean I know he's quiet, but when he has a few, things _do_ change."  
"You've been there when that happens?"  
Tom shrugged. "I just know from experience."  
She peered down into her glass. "But he's more sensible than that. Or at least that was what I _thought_."  
He gazed down at the pendant that was sparkling sadly in the soft lights of the bar. "That's pretty." He noted.  
Karen followed his gaze. "Chris bought me that."  
He whistled in surprise. "Must've cost him a _bomb_."  
"Well…he _is_ quite well off." She smiled at the memory of when he gave it to her – when he'd placed himself behind her and softly looped it around her neck. "Plus we've gone out to a few nice places…he paid a few _hundred_ on one occasion."  
"He's not as unassuming as he likes to make out then?" Tom smirked.  
"What do you mean?"  
"I mean flashing his plastic about." He couldn't help but find it amusing. He noticed Karen had almost finished her drink. "Guess we'd better make a move."  
"There was something I did just think of." She told him suddenly.  
"Oh?"  
"Why don't we take him out for a bit one night?"  
He didn't like the sound of that. "No. No alcohol."  
"It doesn't have to be alcohol." Although she knew better to know that one drink didn't _hurt_ him anyway. "But he could certainly do with going out somewhere. Anyone would get bored if they were unwell and couldn't get out."

Tom nodded slowly. "That's not a bad idea." He smirked a little. "You'll have to _persuade_ him first."  
"I think his _birthday_ isn't that far off."  
His eyes widened. "Of course. It's next week." He smirked a little. "Time certainly flies by…"  
"Then it's _perfect_."

"I can always talk him into the idea if you want. He might open up to me more so than yourself for…obvious reasons."  
Karen smiled softly. "Thanks for that."  
"You're welcome."


	24. Chapter 24

Chris jolted awake from hearing his mobile vibrate on the table next to the bed; he languidly answered it, surprised to realise Tom had called him.  
"How are you feeling, mate?"  
"Better…I guess." He didn't mind _Tom_ calling him, as he didn't really hold anything against him. But at the same time, he couldn't shake off what Karen had done to him – ending it with him in such an abrupt way.  
"How do you feel about coming out next week?"  
"Why, what's happening next week?"  
"Well…it'd be nice to get you out for an hour or so."  
Chris felt his back stiffen a little. "We _could_."  
"I'm so _glad_ to hear that." Tom _did_ sound happy at Chris agreeing to coming out. "And don't worry about driving. We'll come by and pick you up."  
"Who's the extra person?"  
"Karen's coming as well."  
Chris felt a wave of nausea settle in the pit of his stomach. "O-ok…"

Tom was smiling widely as he hung up.  
"What did he say?"  
"I think he's ok with the idea. He _did_ baulk at the mention of you coming along."  
Karen flitted her gaze away. "It's not like I'm out to get him, though."  
"I think he's just still getting over you ending it with him." He thought honestly. "Don't worry. He's not the sort to hold a personal vendetta against anyone."

Next Friday – the end of the week.  
Chris was _nervous _waiting for Tom to pick him up; dare he said it, but he hoped that Karen didn't happen to be in the car with him.  
She _was_.  
Refusing to make eye contact with her or even say anything to her, he inched further over to his side of the car in the back, as she gazed over at him a few times, confused.  
"So you've been coping ok, then, mate?" Tom decided to break the awkward silence that had fallen between all three of them.  
He nodded dimly. "I guess so."  
"We've been worried about you. Even the guys at work have as well…"  
Chris didn't want to hear any of it. "No one has to worry about me."  
Tom thought it best to leave it at that. The remnants of what had happened were probably still bothering him.

They got to Tom's place; he took their jackets from them and took them through to his lounge. "Ok, now you guys just stay there and relax for a few moments while I check up on things."  
Chris and Karen sat apart from each other; she kept her gaze on him, while he tried to avoid her intent look by focusing his gaze somewhere else. Maybe if he showed that he wasn't interested, she would get the message.  
He couldn't help but notice she _was_ dressed rather well; hopefully it wasn't for _his_ benefit.  
Tom appeared, handing her a glass of something clear. "One Martini for you."  
She took it thankfully.  
Chris frowned a little. How on earth did _he_ know that she liked _drinking_ that? She only ever told _him_ when they went out together!  
Not that he particularly _cared_, of course.  
"What do you feel like, mate?"  
He gazed wearily at him. "Whatever you've got."  
"Come on, live a little. Where's that spark of yours?" He knelt down to his level, gazing into his blue eyes, which were usually bright and perky, but looked like they'd lost their sparkle that had fizzled out.  
Even _Karen_ had noticed Chris's apparent exhaustion, but as if it was likely he would want to talk to _her_ about it.  
"What about some water, you feel like that?"  
"I guess so…" Maybe that would wake him up a bit.  
Tom softly rubbed him down his back. "We'll get you loosened up yet."  
_I don't want loosening up_, he thought to himself impatiently. Bed wasn't a bad idea, but he couldn't exactly go to sleep in someone else's house.  
Karen couldn't help but feel a little worried about the way Chris was behaving. She fought the urge to sit with him, knowing full well he would either further avoid her as he did so in the car, or perhaps drop the silent act with her and open his mouth. Either of those wouldn't be a good reaction.  
She decided to stay put for then.

"Well, I'm going to go out to the takeaway place now." Tom stated, knowing full well that _neither_ of them had spoken to each other. "I might need some help though, if either of you guys wanted to come."  
Chris shrank into the sofa, preferring to stay behind anyway; he felt poorly and tired, and wanted to sleep more than anything else. Even if it was only a few minutes' sleep.  
"Are you ok, Chris?" He got his jacket on, a worried look on his face.  
"I think I need to sleep…"  
Karen was even _more_ worried. "_I'll _go with you. It'll give him a chance to catch up on any sleep he lost."  
He was silently thankful she volunteered to go with Tom. He curled himself up, closing his eyes.  
"Just get as much sleep as you want, mate. Ok?" Tom placed a hand on the younger male's back. "You look like you've lost some."  
He nodded weakly.  
"If you want, you can always go upstairs and get some sleep – if that would make you feel any better." He offered.  
"I'll stay here." Chris felt himself drift off, as Tom pulled away and gazed at Karen in a worried way.  
"I hope you're still going to be hungry by the time we come back." He teased softly. "I know it's not like you to lose your appetite."  
He said nothing, but went very still and quiet.  
Both of them headed out.

"That kid is worrying me." Tom admitted to Karen as they got to the takeaway place.  
"You're telling _me_, he wouldn't even look at me." She told him. "What's made him so tired?"  
He shook his head. "Lack of sleep, I'm guessing. He might be keeping himself awake at night…you just don't know, do you?"  
"He seems so different."  
"He's lost his spark, Karen. That's not good in his case." He gazed at her anxiously. "I don't know why, but maybe both of us should get him to talk…find out what's causing it."  
She smirked a little. "He won't_ look_ at me, let alone _talk _to me."  
Tom went to get out. "Maybe he _has_ to – maintain some form of contact. Just to let him know that we're both there for him."  
Karen flitted her gaze away. "Ok…"  
He smiled softly. "He needs both of us."


	25. Chapter 25

Chris jolted awake after hearing the front door open and then close.  
Tom peered his head round. "Still recharging?"  
He nodded weakly.  
"You can always go and lie down on my bed if you want." He suggested. "If you don't feel up to eating."  
"No. No…I'm not _that_ bad." Chris suddenly sat up properly, his stomach feeling empty at the thought of food.  
Tom smiled softly. "That's what we want to see."

After they all finished, Tom went to clear up, taking the used plates from Karen and Chris before getting his own.  
"You didn't have to do all that, you know." Chris put to Tom, rather than her, honestly.  
"Well…we _wanted_ to. I mean it _is_ a certain person's _birthday_ coming up."  
He felt a small blush start, and he followed him out to help.  
"No, go on. Sit back down."  
"I'd rather stay out _here_ with you." He admitted.  
Tom frowned. "You two still not talked?"  
"I don't wanna talk to her."  
"Chris…" He put the plates down and placed his hands on the younger male's shoulders. "Karen is really worried about you. She can't understand why you're not talking to her."  
"She _knows_ why, Tom. Go and _ask_ her. She won't hide anything from _you_ as she's done so with _me_."  
He looked confused. "What do you mean, mate?"  
Chris flitted his gaze to the floor. "How did you know what she drank?"  
He gazed, open mouthed, at him. Why would something so apparently insignificant mean so much to him?  
The younger male knew Tom felt like that. But it was _minor_ things like that, which bothered him. "She only ever told _me_ her favourite drink was Martini. So how did _you_ find out?"  
He looked at him honestly. "We went out for a drink after dropping you off. That was all."  
"Why? I don't understand…"

"We just wanted to talk about you. Both of us were worried."  
Chris cast his gaze back to him. "So that you can spy on me, is that what it was all about?"  
Tom shook his head. "That's not what we wanted to do. Karen suggested taking you out, it wasn't my idea at all."  
"I could tell it was _her_ idea." His posture became more aggressive. "Only that what she had in mind didn't quite work, did it?"  
He frowned. "Chris, I don't know what you mean."  
"She's after _you_."  
"That's _silly_. Karen does _not_ fancy me; she's got her heart set on you. She says so, even after she ended it."  
"Did she really end it or did _you_?" Chris's voice sounded soft yet slightly shocked. He knew the real answer, but he had to hear it for himself.  
"I had a hand in it…" Tom admitted. "I'm sorry."  
He didn't accept the apology. "What have _I _ever done to you?"  
"I got a little jealous. But now I know she doesn't have eyes for me." He watched Chris start to pull back. "I made her end it with you after I thought you'd been out drinking that night and doing…you know…stuff."  
"Y-you thought I was _cheating_ on her?" His voice turned from shocked to utterly incredulous.  
"That wasn't all."  
He tilted his head slightly.  
"I told her you might've started the fight you had with Charlie through drinking."  
That definitely tore it. Chris swiftly got his jacket on, not wanting to stay a second longer.  
Karen came out of the lounge, noticing the younger male looked pretty much ready to go. "What…? Where are you going?"  
"You're _welcome_ to him." He put to her icily; he'd _never_ come across that way with anyone. "You're both alike, you know."  
"Now just hold on a second, Chris." She grabbed him by the sleeve of his jacket, and pulled him back against the hall's wall, stopping him from getting away. "I don't fancy Tom."  
"Then why go along with him?" Chris asked her tearfully, his eyes glistening with tears. "Why do that to me?"  
Karen drew in a deep breath. "He made me doubt you."  
"After everything we've said…" He pulled himself free from her grip. "You know me better than anyone else. You should be able to trust me."  
"Please stay." She kept him back, her body almost up against his. "We can forget about this…can't we?"  
He shook his head sadly. "I don't trust you at all. I don't trust _either_ of you."  
Karen decided to drop the begging and courteousness within the situation; just as Chris was going to squirm free, she pulled him back again. The action immediately made him feel intimidated.  
"If you fancy him, all you had to do was say so."  
She shook her head. "I don't fancy him, Chris. You _know_ I love _you_."  
"Is that what you call it?" He smirked a little.  
"Look…we can go back to yours. Go to bed together and have some fun."  
"I don't _want_ fun." He pulled himself away. "That's not what I want from you."  
Karen was startled at him pulling away like that. "Then what _is_ it you want? I want to give you anything you want, Chris…just tell me."  
Chris flitted his gaze to the floor and then back to her. "I think it's better if we stay away from each other for a bit."  
She shook her head. "No. No, don't do that. You know that's a silly way to go about it."  
"Karen, please don't make this any worse. We should keep out of each other's way. Maybe Tom can cover me for then."  
"Why are you allowing this to happen?"  
He came over tired again. "I'd feel better sooner if we did this."  
"What's going on?" Tom came out, noticing the two had started talking. "Wow. I didn't expect you guys to start talking again."  
"I need to go." Chris put to him dimly.  
"No. No, come on, mate. Stay for a bit. Especially if you're tired." He grabbed him by the sleeve of his jacket.  
"I said _no_." He defiantly pulled himself free again, sharply gazing at each one of them. "I've got nothing to say to either of you." He opened the door and left Tom's place, leaving both of them mildly shocked.


	26. Chapter 26

Tom stood in his doorway, as did Karen, as Chris disappeared down the road. "Go after him."  
"You'll have more of a chance, Tom…he might actually talk to you."  
"No." He turned to her dimly. "He's annoyed at _both_ of us. We should let him go."

As soon as Chris got back to his, he felt _so_ worn out from what had been going on that he felt he had to get some sleep; he kicked the nightstand in sheer annoyance, unable to understand why Tom suddenly felt the urge to be _jealous_ of him for having Karen. And then decide to accuse him of drinking himself silly, and then tell him that he didn't fancy her at all? Just what was going through his head?  
What was going through _either_ of their heads?  
Feeling exhaustion weigh him down considerably, he curled himself up in bed, pulling the blankets right over himself. He desperately wanted to switch off, but with everything going on, he found that _hopeless._

"Do you think he'll be in on Monday?" Tom poured Karen out a drink.  
She shook her head. "I don't know, Tom…I don't even know what he's feeling right now. He's more likely to show his face than _not_."  
He gave her the glass of Martini. "We'll just have to explain to him that we didn't mean for any of this to happen."  
"I don't think he'll give us the time of day to let us explain ourselves to him." She put to him, beat. "I mean I know you're his friend, but after the way he _spoke_ to you, it was almost as though he well and truly held something against you."  
Tom smiled softly. "Given the fact that he was still poorly and tired, he might be better by Monday."  
They sat down together in the lounge.  
"Maybe I should call him…" Karen wasn't letting Chris out of her thoughts. She was worried sick about him. "Or call in on the way home."

"Will he _want_ to talk to you though?" He supposed dimly. "He might not even be awake."

Karen decided to walk past Chris's place; she debated with herself whether to go and ask him if he was feeling ok, but what if he didn't _want_ her there?  
Noticing someone else going into the same block of flats as where _he_ was, she slipped in through the door, and went straight to his floor. She knocked on his door, only for him to take his time in answering it. Maybe he already knew she was there.  
Or maybe not. His eyes widened a little at seeing her, if it weren't for the sleep that made them feel so heavy-lidded. "Why are you here?"  
"I feel I need to explain myself to you."  
Chris drew in a deep breath, before letting her in. "I don't even know how you managed to get in."  
"Someone else got in before me."  
He said nothing, but heavily sat down.  
Karen could tell he was exhausted through and through just by looking at him. "Were you trying to sleep?"  
"Unsuccessfully." He tiredly rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "I can't think why that could be."  
"Chris, come on. Don't start all this again." She shakily placed a hand on his shoulder, realising he didn't want to shrug it off that time round.  
"Why aren't you with _him_?"  
"Because I want to be with you."  
Chris smirked a little. "Don't you think you're wasting your time with me?"  
"No, not at all." Karen rubbed him a few times. "I want _you_. I don't want _Tom_."  
He felt the tiredness sink in more.  
"How can I prove to you that I want _you_?" She put to him softly.  
"You shouldn't _have_ to, Karen." He gazed at her faintly. "You just have to _feel_ it."  
"I _do_ feel it." She inched closer to him, realising that he didn't pull away. "And I want to _show_ you."  
Chris nodded dimly. "I-if that's what you _want_…" He took her into the bedroom and removed his t-shirt, revealing to Karen his supple and slim body. "But once you do this, there's no going back."  
She watched in utter amazement, as his boxers were the next to go when he slid them off his hips, allowing them to glide down his long slender legs.  
"I'm not afraid to do this, Karen…" His broad chest heaved slightly, as she ran a hand down his flat stomach. "And I know you want me. But you mustn't tell _anyone_…and this is to be kept _secret_."  
"I-I _do_ want you, Chris." Karen placed her hands on either side of the young male's waist, pulling him closer to her. "I want you more than _anything_."  
Chris took her hands with his. "Then _have_ me." He towed her over to the bed, gazing at her softly. "I don't wanna force you into anything, as I've said before…but if this is something you want…"  
She pressed her lips to his, as he let her take full control of him; she pushed him down onto the bed on his back and slid on top of him.  
Their kisses became more passionate, deepening till they had to fight for more air.  
"Feel good?" She shakily asked him, pulling away from him. She sat on his lap facing him, wrapping her legs around his waist.  
He nodded dimly.  
Karen pulled him back up against her, their mouths hungrily joining each other; her hand pressed itself into the lower part of Chris's back, pressing him flush against her.  
"Do you know what you're getting yourself into?" She placed her hands on his broad chest, feeling it heave with excitement as he brought her down onto the bed on her back, positioning himself on top of her.  
He nodded shakily. "But I'm ready…if _you_ are."  
Karen smiled softly. "I wouldn't say _no_." She gazed up at him adoringly, cupping his face with a hand and skimming her thumb over the contour of his cheekbone.  
"A-are you sure you want this?"  
She nodded faintly. "As long as _you_ do."  
Eagerly, he drove into her with a sharp, short motion, feeling the sweat start to build up as he did so.  
Her back arched in acceptance, giving him access to her. She gasped at the feeling of him inside her, hot shocks exploding all over her body.  
Chris closed his eyes, as he buried himself in deeper. He had _not_ expected her to feel as good as she did – his hips jolted in excitement as he stopped inside of her.  
"When you're ready." Karen teased. "Or are you _scared_?"  
Refusing to give in to her light teasing, he swung his hips down on top of hers, sliding his body against her. She uttered a faint gasp, feeling him directly hit her sweet spot inside.  
Both of them moved together, in perfect rhythm and flawless tempo. It wasn't long before they were at their peak.  
She arched her back again, bucking upwards as her release came; she relaxed against the bed as Chris slammed into her a few times before coming to a stop.  
He shakily withdrew, feeling contraction after contraction pass through into his hips and towards his back. That was probably one of the best ones he'd ever had.  
He gazed down at her, as the sweat dripping from his forehead dampened his bangs. Karen wrapped her arms around his back, her hands caressing the smooth contours of his strong shoulder blades.  
"S-so how was that?" Chris faintly asked her, excitement still present in his voice.  
She nodded hazily. "You have _no_ idea."


	27. Chapter 27

The next morning.  
Karen awoke quite early; she found herself lying in amongst some warm blankets, realising she'd been lying down in bed.  
She peered to her right, noticing Chris was lying asleep next to her; his left arm was positioned under her back, and his right arm was wrapped around her waist, keeping her close to his body and holding her in a very protective embrace.  
She smiled softly. He must've put her to bed with him last night. _He certainly has his ways of making sure I'm safe_, she thought to herself.  
His eyes slowly opened, as they tried to adjust to the late morning rays from the sun. He felt better at realising that Karen had stayed with him all night. "Hey."  
She swept a stray bang back to where it should've been. "Hey."  
"Good sleep?"  
She nodded hazily. "Must've been from what we did last night."  
Chris smiled softly. "That was on _my_ part, was it?" He shakily sat up, feeling his muscles ache.  
"I feel bad, you know."  
He frowned a little. "Why's that?" As far as _he_ was concerned, Karen did nothing wrong. What did she have to be sorry for?  
"Because you didn't have a very good birthday."  
"Karen, it's not a problem." He admitted. "I shouldn't have left the way I did – especially since you two guys really _did_ try."  
She nodded dimly. "I want to make it up to you."  
"Don't do that." He tried to plead with her. "You don't have to. It was _my_ fault I left the way I did. A-and the way I behaved with you…there was no need for it."  
Karen took his hands with hers. "Chris, please let me make this up to you."  
"Karen, don't be so silly…"  
"And I'm _paying_."

Once they got to the restaurant, the two of them took their places; they gazed into each other's eyes, not taking their gazes away.  
"You shouldn't have to resort to doing this, you know." Chris was still protesting with Karen not to do it.  
She smiled softly. "Well, it's only fair. It's your birthday…plus, _you're_ usually the one who pays for us when we do anything like this."  
He shrugged. "Doesn't mean I'm hard done-by when I _do_. I just like…_treating_ you all the time, I guess."  
She admired the way the candles flickered against his fair skin. _God does he look hot_, she thought to herself, knowing her thoughts were _obviously _elsewhere. "But sometimes it's not always good for _one_ person to keep doing so."  
Chris flitted his gaze away shyly, finding himself _so_ unaccustomed to having to be the one who was being paid for. He might as well have gotten used to it, seeing as it was a one-off. "So what's on the cards after this?"  
_Wouldn't you like to know? _Karen thought naughtily.

They settled down in bed together, smothering each other with kisses, ensuring no area on their bodies was left uncovered; they gazed longingly at each other, unsure of how much further they should take it.  
Eventually, Chris placed a hand on Karen's stomach tenderly, rubbing it a few times. "Are you still hurting down there?"  
She nodded dimly. "I don't know why."  
He inched closer to her. "It'll take some time for it to heal." He placed his other hand on her back. "Being assaulted is _never_ a pleasant experience."  
She lay down on her back in amongst the blankets, as he leant further over her and continued with his touch. "In some respects, I don't know why I didn't stop him."  
"You mean that guy abroad, or…?"  
Karen closed her eyes and nodded. "Was I wrong to have done that, Chris?"  
Chris slowed his touch. "Well…I wouldn't go as far as _that_, but you were quite _young_ at the time. I don't think you really _knew_ what was going to happen."  
She gazed at him slowly. "Does that make me a bad person?"  
"No, not at all." He shook his head. "It doesn't make you _evil_, or _dirty_, or anything like that. If _anything_, it was _his_ fault for doing what he did to you."  
"B-but after not telling anyone else…"  
"You had your reasons for not doing so and that's fine." He assured her. "You didn't wanna hurt your _family_…and you especially didn't wanna hurt _yourself _again by going into any other intimate relationships. That's how _trauma_ manifests itself."  
Karen nodded, flitting her gaze away from Chris.  
"Don't _ever_ think you're a bad person. Because I know that you aren't."  
"I'm sorry I feel like this, Chris, but…"  
"Don't apologise for it. I understand, honestly, and I will _never_ treat you like that." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're _safe_ with me now."  
She closed her eyes as he stroked her there very softly; she found herself giving in to his touch as it started to soothe her to sleep. "I-I've been feeling so bad because of it…"  
"I can _imagine_." He kept the stroking going, sliding closer to her. "But it stops here. And whenever you feel like doing anything…_naughty_…I will not _hurt_ you. We're only going to do things like that on _your_ terms, ok?"  
Karen looked up at Chris softly. "C-can you _touch_ me _there_?"  
He automatically knew _where_. "I won't do it if it _hurts_ you…"  
"As long as you're _gentle_ with me." She lay back, as he unsurely leant over her more, and glided a hand down along her stomach, to her lower abdomen.  
"If you're sure…"  
She nodded faintly. "I'm sure because I _trust_ you."  
Chris carefully moved his hand further down, and very softly slid a finger up and around her. She arched her back, submitting herself to his touch. "Like this?"  
She nodded through half-closed eyes; she may not have felt like physically doing it with him, but at least she felt that he could do _anything_ she wanted him to. She could go as far on to have thought that maybe he intuitively felt her pain, as she relaxed into the touch.  
Chris felt her close up around him, and he got worried. What if he unwittingly _hurt_ her? His thought was answered when Karen placed a hand on his reassuringly, telling him to keep going.

He moved a little further up and gently squeezed her jewel between two fingertips. He gazed down at her, noticing her eyes had softened from pleasure.  
"Go inside."  
He felt chills slide down his spine. Sure, he'd already done it with her, but to actually _touch_ her? It was almost a privilege to do so, as she was asking him to touch her in such a special area.  
She smiled softly, as she stroked at the inside of his wrist. "You won't hurt me."  
Carefully, Chris slid a finger into her, already sensing how swollen she'd become; he stroked her softly upwards, erasing the long-standing distress and discomfort she'd felt. His stomach flipped itself over so many times at the realisation of what he was doing to her. He continued to caress her flower, embracing such a delicate part of her and sweeping away any pain that was still within her body.  
He never thought he could do anything so intimate to her.  
Karen felt something _peculiar_ through the young male's touch; her hips jolted a little, suddenly feeling the urge to release.  
Contractions swamped her, causing her excitement to swell and send deep pulses of pleasure throbbing their way through her.  
Chris simply kept the touch going, sure that he'd pushed her over the edge more than once. He withdrew as she lay on the bed, gazing up at him. "Karen, I'm sorry…I'm so sorry."  
"For what?"  
"F-for making you climax…I didn't know that was what you wanted."  
Karen sat up and gave him a thankful kiss. "Chris, you did fine…absolutely fine."  
He seemed almost confused.  
"You rid me of the pain." She smiled softly. "That was what I wanted. As for the climax, that was a _bonus_."  
He nodded softly. "S-so this wasn't meant to _excite _you?"  
"It was _pleasurable_, sure. But it was to stop me from feeling any more pain, and to get me a bit more relaxed." She gave him a kiss on his lips. "Thank you."  
"Y-you're welcome."


	28. Chapter 28

Chris watched Karen as she slept under him; he carefully slid her silky blonde bangs back to their proper places, and watched her chest slowly rise and fall as she took in each breath and then out again.  
He followed the sun's rays, which shone onto her skin faultlessly and gave a rich glow to her fair complexion.  
She was _perfect_.  
He smiled softly, as she stirred in his protective embrace and tried to get more relaxed.  
Karen's eyes slowly opened, finding herself gazing up into a pair of vibrant blue eyes, as they gazed down into hers. "Chris…" She mumbled out, still feeling so tired.  
Chris instinctively knew that she wouldn't feel better straightaway; it'd take some time for her to heal, although what he'd done to her the previous night would clear the discomfort quicker and more painlessly.  
"What time is it?"  
He tenderly stroked her over her eyelids, caressing them downwards to make them feel heavy again. She needed to sleep. "Ssh…close your eyes and get some more sleep." He whispered to her.  
"B-but…"  
"You're _safe_ with me." The stroking came heavier and slower. "I'm looking after you now."  
Karen slowly closed her eyes, giving in to the touch and letting the tension slip away.  
Chris carefully laid her back in amongst the blankets, as he decided to leave her to recharge.

It had been some time since Chris had left Karen to sleep by herself; he checked up on her a few hours after, seeing her still deeply asleep.  
He ran his fingers through her hair, rubbing the ends of it between his fingertips. She stirred under him, moving her legs into a more comfortable position under the blankets.  
Her eyes slowly opened, gazing up into Chris's vibrant blue ones.  
"How do you feel?" He asked her softly, sweeping a hand over her forehead.  
"Better."  
He smiled a little. "Good."  
Karen shakily sat up, as he disappeared for a few seconds, and then reappeared with a glass of water.  
"Drink this." He gave it to her. "It'll help you feel better."  
She thankfully took it, downing it in one go as it hit her stomach and eased the nausea she felt.  
"All better now?" Chris took the glass from her.  
She nodded dimly.  
"I didn't know what you felt like doing today, being a Sunday." He flitted his gaze away from her shyly. He'd been with her for _how_ long and he still felt _shy_ around her?  
She smiled, resting a hand on his shoulder. "I don't mind. I just like feel like spending it with you."  
He came over even _more_ shy. "I guess you should go back to your _own_ place tonight… don't want any _other_ members of your family becoming suspicious of what you've been getting up to lately."  
Karen shrugged. "My _main_ concern was _Charlie_, to be fair. As for anyone else…"  
"But one of your _kids_ also knows as well, Karen." He gazed at her anxiously. "I would _hate_ for someone like _Jess _to find out next."  
She nodded slowly. "She won't find out. And as for _Harry_…he's only under the impression that we're _special_ friends."  
Chris smirked a little. "Special meaning _what_ exactly? A _bit of fun_?"  
It was _her_ turn to smirk. "Come on, don't start all that again." She turned her body round to face Chris more. "I only _omitted_ certain truths, Chris. It's not a _crime_ to do so."  
"But still…" His gaze became anxious, unsure. "You _did_ still lie to him about us."  
Karen drew in a deep breath.  
"I want this relationship we have with each other to be as _honest_ as it _can_ be – and to remain private without the risk of complications." He put to her softly. "If we work so closely together and continue to do so, then this should be kept between you and me."  
She looked away slowly.  
"As far as _Tom_ is concerned, we're _still _friends. I know he told me about deliberately trying to end it between us, but he _was_ honest about it. And even if we _were_ to break our friendship, he's not the sort of person to go around telling everyone about us going out together. He's just not _like_ that." He made her look up at him. "The _only_ way this can _ever_ get out now is if we either _tell _them – which is highly unlikely if we promised each other _not_ to – or they find out in some _other_ way."  
"I really want to be with you." She told him dimly.  
"I really wanna be with you _too_, and I wanna make this work just as much as you. This is the _only_ time I've ever felt something as strong as this. But I will _not_ stay in a relationship that's full of _lies_, Karen. Especially if we end up lying to other people."  
"S-so we keep this quiet between ourselves."  
He nodded slowly. "That's all I'm asking of you."  
"B-but Chris…they _will_ suspect something." Karen noted shakily. "The nights out we have…having breaks together…even you giving me _gifts_ like this." She ran a thumb over the glitzy pendant she wore that he gave to her. "They're not stupid."

"I never said they _are_, but I would put to you that you shouldn't wear that at work, for the fact that they might _ask_ you about it. But if anything, they would automatically assume your _husband_ gave you it, not me."  
She smirked. "As if they would think Charlie had the money to pay for a few hundred-pound pendant."  
"Then don't wear it." Chris inched closer to her. "Only wear it when it's just us two. And as for the _breaks_ together, no one knows what we get up to on those. The same applies for when we go out together…unless someone's actually _spying_ on us, they won't know. For now, this is as private as it can get."  
Karen made to get dressed. "It just all sounds like we're doing something immoral."  
"But we're _not_." He protested. "You're unhappy in your marriage because he doesn't look after you properly. There's nothing _immoral_ about that."  
"But I'm cheating on him with you."  
He took hold of her hands and stroked the insides of her wrists with his thumbs. "This isn't cheating, Karen. You've said yourself you don't love him anymore and have already thought of getting rid of him. And even if you _were _to stay with him, through fear or otherwise, would you wanna stay with a violent partner who beats you all the time than rather be with someone who actually treats you better than that?"  
She gazed into his vibrant blue eyes; they glistened seductively in the soft sunlight that had filtered through the window. She knew Chris would look after her and respect her – more so than _Charlie_ ever did.  
"You're unsure, aren't you?"  
Karen couldn't help but get lost in those big, bright blue eyes. "I know you're as serious about me as you say you are, but what if we wanted to do _more_ together?"

"More as in what exactly?"  
"I mean more as in like…being _engaged_." She saw him tilt his head attentively. She felt she had to kick herself for being so stupid to say something as presumptuous as that. "I'm sorry, Chris…that came out wrong. I didn't mean to sound so forward…"  
"If it went as far as _that_, I would still wanna keep that pretty much between ourselves." He put to her softly. "That's still a very private matter that only _we_ should know about."  
Karen's heart fluttered at the thought of being _married_ to Chris; it was something she never thought that much about. She had feelings for him, sure, but did she feel that strongly enough to _marry_ him? She wasn't sure. "What about if we _did_ get married – for argument's sake?"  
"Then I would have to say the same again."  
She nodded slowly.  
"What made you say that?"  
She snapped to. "I-I…don't know exactly."  
"So you want a wedding next, do you?" He smirked playfully. "Not the sort to hang around, are you?"  
"I-it was just an example."  
"Doesn't mean that the idea of it escaped you." He tightened his grip on her hands. "We're taking this slow, remember?"  
Karen felt Chris's finger trace itself along the underside of her jaw, forcing her to gaze up into his eyes again.  
"One day at a time, yeah?"


	29. Chapter 29

Later on that night.  
Chris gave Karen a lift back to hers.  
"Thanks for what you did."  
He smirked playfully. "I did _lots_ of things."  
"I mean like when you…_touched_ me like that."  
He raised an eyebrow. "Y-you mean last night?" When she nodded, he shrugged her gratitude off. "Not a problem. I was only happy to make you feel better…though I'm not sure what I _did_."  
She placed a hand on his arm, squeezing at the slight yet firm muscle under his jacket. She was surprised at how much muscle was there for how slender he was. "All I ever wanted was someone to protect me."  
"You _know_ I will do that for you." Chris put to her firmly. "I will _always_ keep you safe, Karen. Remember that."  
Karen nodded slowly.  
He looked away shyly. "You know, when you asked me to touch you there, it made me feel…nervous. Well, maybe not so much nervous, but _excited_."  
She followed his gaze, which didn't seem to be anywhere in particular.  
"I didn't expect you to trust me with such an intimate part of you." He admitted. "Does that sound silly to you?"  
She shook her head. "Considering what I had done to me…all those years ago…not really." She frowned. "Do you mean to say you didn't _like_ doing that?"  
"No! No, I did…but after what you'd been through, it sort of surprised me."  
Karen smiled softly. "I asked you because I _trusted_ you." She assured him. "I would _never_ let anyone touch me the way _you_ did."  
Chris nodded dimly. "Not even your _husband_?"  
She shook her head. "Not even him. Because I know he'll be rough with me."  
"I can be rough if you prefer…"  
Her smile broadened. "I don't think rough _suits_ you, Chris. And anyway, I liked the way you were with me. You weren't forceful or hard…"  
Chris felt himself drift away as she squeezed him at his arm. He didn't know why, but it made him feel _relaxed_. The last thing he wanted was to fall asleep at the wheel!  
She teasingly made him look at her by placing a finger under his jaw. "You made me feel _loved_."  
"That's because I _do_ love you."  
Karen pulled him closer to her, pressing her lips to his. He expected nothing more than a very short, coy kiss but it deepened a little, as she playfully slid her tongue along his lower lip.  
He shakily pulled away, unable to ignore the throbbing feelings he felt course through his body. "S-so…I'll see you tomorrow…" He gasped out.  
She smiled at the way she made him feel; his bright blue eyes had taken on a more submissive sparkle, as his cheeks turned a small pink colour. She _loved_ exciting him. "Maybe if you want to come in _early_ enough…" She put to him suggestively.  
Chris managed to recover from his little moment of excitement.  
"I can do _more_ of that."  
He shakily nodded. "Y-you should go before anyone suspects anything or sees us together."  
Karen didn't want to leave him, but she knew that she _had_ to. "I don't want to."  
"But you _should_." He didn't want her to go either, but it was better for both of them if they were separate. He watched her get out of the car, making sure she didn't fall over.  
She was slightly amused at how coy she'd made him. "If I've tempted you enough then…"  
Chris smirked a little. "Just go already."

Monday morning.  
The two of them smothered each other with kisses, their hands wandering all over each other's bodies; Karen brought Chris up against the wall, sliding her hands under his shirt and caressing him at the sides of his waist.  
He gasped at the contact.  
"So because you don't have many _sets_ today…" She started teasingly. "What were your plans after you take those?"  
"I-I don't exactly know…" His voice tailed off as she slunk one hand down along his flat stomach and under his trousers into his boxers.  
"Well, why don't you and I have a _meeting_?" Karen suggested.  
"W-what about?"  
She found herself getting lost in the moment; she _loved_ dominating the young male like that. Well, he _did_ say they would be going at _her_ speed!  
Chris snapped to, his eyes quickly losing their misted-over excitement and reverting back to their vibrant state. He suddenly didn't have a very nice feeling about what she was saying. Not that he didn't _want_ it, of course…  
Karen stopped her touching.  
"Is this all our meetings are going to _consist_ of?"  
"I thought you _wanted_ this."  
"Is the same thing going to happen when we _have_ it?" He put to her again.  
"Chris, I…" She got worried when he pulled himself away from her and made him look presentable again. "That's not what I meant."  
"People will _definitely_ know something is up if we do this all the time." He protested.  
"I was going to put something to you…"  
"What was _that_ going to be?" Chris positioned himself on the windowsill and crossed his arms over his chest. "More of this?"  
"Now come on…"  
"Or were you thinking of asking me if I wanted to screw you someplace _else_?" He was sure Karen was starting to see him as a bike. "Maybe the _desk_ was the next option, was it?"  
"I was actually thinking of _promoting_ you, as a matter of fact."  
He fell silent, as her words hit him.  
"Don't know why I even _bothered_ to think that, after your short outburst."  
"I'm sorry." Chris told her slowly. "I didn't know you were considering that."  
She shook her head. "I was going to tell you sometime, but the best time would've been when we were together and alone."  
"We've been together and alone all weekend." He put to her. "There was nothing stopping you then."  
"What, us two talking shop all weekend? Was that what you'd have wanted?" She sharply stated, causing him to jump slightly.  
"I guess not."  
"I don't see you as a bit of fun, you know, Chris."

"It just seemed like that." He peered down at the floor. "But now I know that you don't."

Karen gazed at him softly.  
"I just don't want our time together at work to be this all the time." Chris came closer to her, and felt awful when she pulled away sharply as he placed his hands on her arms. "Come on…we don't wanna be seen as staff room gossip, do we?"  
"I guess not…"  
"Remember what we promised each other." 

Just at that moment, Tom came in.  
"Sorry…I didn't realise you guys were busy in the middle of something." He apologised.  
Karen shook her head. "No, no, it's fine. Chris was just going."  
_No I wasn't_. He thought, feeling a painful stab at his chest. He placed his hands around her wrists. "I'm sorry."  
She nodded dimly. "You should go."


	30. Chapter 30

Tom closed the door behind him, as Chris disappeared. "Everything ok between you guys?"

Karen nodded dimly. "He still thinks I'm using him."

He smiled softly. "He's probably a bit insecure."

She heavily sat down behind her desk. "How else can I _prove_ to him I'm not using him?"  
Tom shrugged. "I can't really help you out there…but I know that just by looking at you two, you _are_ made for each other."  
"Really? How so?"  
His smile grew slightly. "The way you look at each other…and the way you both behave sometimes. To be fair, I've never seen the kid look as smitten as he does right now."  
It was _Karen's_ turn to smile. "I do really feel something for him, Tom. And I know that he knows that."

Chris felt _awful_ at his outburst.  
He heavily sat down behind his desk, trying to work out _some_ way of making it up to Karen. He felt that he'd well and truly _offended_ her after talking to her the way he did.

"You want me to talk to him?" He suggested.  
"Are you sure?" She got worried, but then thought back. Chris has already said that he didn't fully find Tom at fault for that Friday night. Maybe things _were_ better between them…  
His smile was more reassuring. "I know he's not the sort to hold grudges with anyone. He'll be fine."

The young male snapped to as he heard his door open slowly.  
Tom cautiously came in, unsure as what to expect from him; a biting comment to tell him to get out was probably what he had in mind, but he knew he wasn't going to be given a friendly _hug_ from him.  
"Something wrong?" Chris _also_ decided to play it safe.  
He nodded slowly. "Karen's just asked me for advice about you two guys."  
"Better be careful there." He smirked. "She might end up _sleeping_ with you next."  
Tom gazed at him blankly.

"Just kidding." He flitted his gaze away shyly. "I know things between me and her _haven't _gone that well…I'm trying to make it up to her."  
"I'm sorry about Friday, Chris…"

"No, _I'm _the one who should be sorry." Chris peered up at him from what he was writing. "I shouldn't have left like that."  
Tom came up to him and squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. "Sorry you didn't have such a good birthday."  
He smiled softly. "That's ok. Karen made it up to me…she took us out."  
"Anywhere nice?"  
"Well…it didn't look like the _cheapest_ of places, put it that way."  
He went to leave him to it. "How are you going to make it up to her, mate?"  
He didn't think that far ahead. "I'll think of something." He then had a thought; he plucked out a scrap piece of paper and hastily wrote something on it. "Give this to her. Make sure she reads it." He folded it in half.  
Tom took the makeshift note from Chris. "Oh…I see. Trying it in a more romantic way, are you?"  
Chris smirked playfully. "Just a spur of the moment idea…" For all _he_ knew, Karen could well like him to have a bit of spontaneity!

Karen tried to focus on her work, but the small spat with Chris was still on her mind. She decided to go and talk to him some time before he thought about going after his last set, yet she held that thought when Tom came in.  
"A certain person wanted to give this to you." He winked knowingly, handing her the folded-up note.  
Surprised, she took the note from him. "Did Chris put you up to this?" She assumed.  
He shrugged. "Read it and find out." He left her to her own devices, as she slowly read it.  
Her heart almost jumped from what was written.

"_COME TO MINE TONIGHT. CHRIS. XXX  
P.S. WEAR SOMETHING NICE – LIKE YOU ALWAYS DO!"_

Karen suddenly grew very excited. What exactly did he have in mind for her? She felt almost compelled to go to him and ask him what he was going to do, but he wasn't likely to _tell_ her if it was a surprise!

Later that night.  
She positioned herself in the shower, her thoughts of Chris barely escaping her mind.  
What he _did_ to her that night still excited her – his finger slowly slid itself in and around her delicacy, subtly getting her to her peak. And when she _released_…it was the best feeling she'd ever had. Fireworks exploded inside of her, as the stroking kept going and never stopped till the contractions slowed.

Karen got to Chris's place as soon as she was sure she was ready; butterflies could be felt floating about in her stomach at the thought of what he was intending to do with her.  
He let her in, his bright blue eyes sparkling intensely. "Glad you could make it." He winked, closing the door behind her.  
"So dare I ask what you have planned, or that still a secret?" She felt warm all over as he slid up behind her and removed her jacket from her.  
As he'd disposed of that, he pulled her closer to him. "Well…let me answer that for you."  
Chris got her to sit down and they both kissed, very shyly. "Stay there and I'll show you."  
Karen was surprised at how warm it was, although it may have well been quite hot because of the _kissing_ they both shared together! She felt a small blush start at her cheeks at how excited he made her.  
"One for you, my lady." He came back, giving her a glass of white wine.  
She took it thankfully. "There's one slight problem…"  
He gazed at her attentively.  
"I _drove_ here."  
He smiled softly. "As if I'd let you drive back once you've had one or two."  
"Y-you mean…"  
"You can stay here tonight." Chris flitted his gaze away. "Unless you had _other_ plans…if you did, I can always take you back."  
Karen smiled and pulled him down next to her. "No, I didn't have any other plans. I just want it to be me and you."  
His smile became cheekier, more playful. "Well…you're in luck. Because that's what you're going to _get_."


	31. Chapter 31

"Hope that wasn't too hot for you." Chris poured Karen out another white wine, as she'd drank what he initially gave her.  
"No, that was just right."  
"I know what _I _did wouldn't compare to what a _normal_ restaurant would've done, but…"  
She cut him off by pressing a finger to his lips. "Chris, what you did was fine, honestly…"  
"If you say so."  
Karen smiled softly, as she cupped his face with one hand, skimming her thumb along his cheekbone; she pressed her lips to his, allowing her tongue to delve into his mouth and savour the sweet tastes inside.  
Chris mumbled incoherently at the action, letting her continue with her probing; her tongue playfully brushed against his, causing a chill to slide down his back.  
She slowly withdrew, gazing into his bright blue eyes.  
"Y-you wanna take this somewhere else?" He put to her coyly.  
"Well, seeing as you were _offering_…"  
Chris got up and took hold of her wrist, pulling her up with him.

Karen was towed over to his bed and they sat down together in the very soft light.  
"So…you notice anything _different_ in here?" He asked her suggestively.  
She was aware of something flickering out of the corner of her eye, and looked to see a small tealight that was sitting on the nightstand. Her insides melted at the way its flame glimmered against the wall.  
"That's not all." Chris tilted his head towards the other tealight that was positioned on the window sill.  
"Chris, I…they're _beautiful_." Karen wasn't aware of how secretly romantic he was.  
"Thought I'd set the atmosphere for when you got here." His eyes sparkled seductively in the soft light.  
"Oh, so you already had this all planned out, did you?"  
He coyly flitted his gaze away from her.  
"You crafty thing."  
Chris flitted his gaze back to her. "Well…they're not exactly there for decoration, you know."  
"So what _are_ they there for?"  
He smiled naughtily. "If you wouldn't mind taking off your clothes, I'll _show_ you."

Karen positioned herself on her back on the bed, as Chris stripped down also and placed himself quite close to her.  
"I was wondering if you wanted me to _touch_ you the way I did last time." He put to her softly.  
She nodded slowly.  
"I promise not to hurt you, Karen…but the more I think about that night when I did that with you, the more I felt like doing it again."  
She felt hot shocks reach her spine as he placed a hand on hers.  
"I felt so connected to you."  
Karen found that it was a _strange_ thing for Chris to say. She didn't expect him to come across as spiritually minded, but he obviously felt a mutual intimacy between both of them – one that evidently ran quite _deeply_. "I trust you to touch me there."  
"Y-you give me your _permission_?"  
She nodded dimly.  
Chills slid down his back at the realisation of what she was allowing him to do; he shakily placed a hand on her lower abdomen, caressing her there slowly. One thing he _didn't_ want to do was to be _forceful_ with her – just slowly easing her into the touch.  
Besides, she already gave him her permission to enter her, and he didn't want to rush through that. One quick touch and it was done was _not_ the way he wanted it to go.  
Once Chris was sure she was relaxed enough, his fingers slowly inched further down over her hip and along the inside of her thigh.  
Karen found herself gazing into his bright blue eyes, which had softened into hers. She was surprised at how excited _he_ was getting just from touching her.  
"I'm going to go into you now." He told her quietly. "You sure you want me to do this?"  
She nodded dimly, her eyes clouded over with pleasure. "I trust you, Chris…please do it."  
Dutifully, he slipped a finger into her, pressing his index finger against her flower and tenderly sweeping at its petals, folding them outwards.  
Karen closed her eyes in acceptance, her muscles feeling heavy from the way he was touching her. "H-how did you learn to get so _good_ at this?"  
"Ssh…" He kept the touch going. "No talking. Just relax."  
She felt like drifting off to sleep from how good Chris made her feel. That was what she'd _hoped_ he would do to her. No passionate sex, just pure, affectionate touch. He was touching sensitive areas she didn't even know _existed_.  
He started to feel her walls pull him in slightly, and he placed two other fingers outside of her body to resist; he slid in and out slowly, adjusting to the tempo she wanted him to go at.  
Karen shuddered a little under Chris, as she quickly approached her peak; he wanted to keep her going for as long as he possibly could without letting the excitement dip.  
He felt her body's muscles tighten, and he knew he couldn't do much else about it but to let her release.  
She arched her back against the bed, as the pleasurable waves rode over his tender caresses; he slowly and carefully withdrew, gazing down at her as she hazily opened her eyes again. "I-I…God, that felt so good."  
"Feel nice and relaxed now?" Chris surveyed the small amount of juices that burst onto him.  
"More so than before." Karen admitted. "You're getting good at that."  
He smiled coyly.  
"Have you been getting practice?" She put to him teasingly.  
"Only with _you_." He winked as he removed the juices from himself with a tissue. "If it means getting rid of the pain and making you feel better…"  
She rolled onto her side, so she could get a better look at him. "The pain certainly isn't as strong as it was before, so what you're doing _must_ be helping."  
"It'll take some few attempts for it to _fully_ go." Chris admitted. "But at least it's made a difference."  
Karen felt warm all over as he pulled the blankets over both of them and wrapped his arms around her.  
"You'll have no problems sleeping now either." He pressed his lips to her forehead, kissing her there sweetly.  
She closed her eyes, nestling her head against his broad chest. "Thank you for that, Chris."  
"You're welcome." He felt all warm and fuzzy when her arm slid itself over and around his slender waist. "I love you."  
No answer.  
He slowly peered down, noticing her eyelids had closed and she'd already settled into a deep sleep. He twirled a few of her bangs around his fingers, taking in their silkiness. "Sleep well." 


	32. Chapter 32

The next morning.

Karen closed her eyes when Chris took her into his arms and pressed her up against him; she spread her legs apart and wrapped them around his waist as he closed his eyes and lapped his tongue against her neck.  
She gasped from the hot explosions peppering her body all over and dug her nails into his shoulders. "Mmm…Chris…"  
He inched his hands up to her shoulder blades, working his fingertips into the smooth curves of them.  
"W-we should get up for work."  
"Is this too distracting for you?" Chris teased her lightly.  
Karen squirmed against him, their naked bodies moving together. "Just a bit."  
"But I can afford to spend a few more minutes in bed like _this_…" His hips slid up to hers. "…making love to the _hottest _boss ever."  
She blushed a little at being called "hot" – or was it from what the two of them were _doing_ to each other?  
"Unless you wanna let it carry on over _morning_ _break_?" He brought her down onto the bed on her back, sliding himself down on top. He did that so quickly that it took her by surprise.  
Karen shook her head dimly. "I-if you want me _now_…you can _have_ me." She offered.

She found it _very_ hard to concentrate all through the first half of the morning; all she could think about was that overly passionate moment in bed.  
Both bodies moving together in perfect rhythm – it made her pulse race at the way they both melted into each other, as Chris kissed away any residual pain she still felt. His hips smoothly glided against hers, and there was no forcefulness coming into it – he was actually very gentle, although still being as passionate as he _could_ be without hurting her.  
Karen closed her eyes at the thought of him wrapping his arms around her and holding her close to him; Charlie _never_ did anything as affectionate yet _steamy_ like that, and dare she admitted it, but it was actually _naughty_ that she was screwing someone else whilst still married to him.

Her train of thought was disrupted when Chris came in.  
"Not still thinking about that, were you?" He assumed cheekily. "Fantasising about me during work hours…you naughty girl."  
She said nothing, yet came over to him and pulled him up against her.  
"Ok, now you're worrying me a bit." He admitted teasingly.

"I'm going to get rid of him, Chris." Karen put to him bluntly. "I'm divorcing Charlie."  
Chris's eyes dimmed a little in alarm. "A-are you sure that's what you _want_? You _have_ been married to him for quite a while. If you want more time to think it over…"  
"I've given it as much thought as I can, and I've thought it over _plenty _of times." She told him.  
"It's not about what we did this morning, is it?"  
She paused.  
"Because relationships aren't just based on…you know…physical attraction. There's an emotional side to it as well." He explained shakily. "I know we _do_ turn each other on a _lot_, Karen. But there's got to be more than that."  
Karen nodded slowly. "I do feel something for you, but I'm not sure what?"  
"Well is it a good feeling or…_not_ so good?"  
She shrugged. "It doesn't feel _bad_, if that's what you were getting at." She gazed into his bright blue eyes. "But I feel safer with you."  
Chris pulled himself away slightly. "It's good that I make you feel that way, but I don't wanna have you _depending_ on me all the time. That's not what I want out of this. I wanna protect you _too_, as that's what I've been doing, but I want you to protect _yourself_. I'm not always going to be with you, am I?"  
"Well, no…"  
"But if you really _are_ thinking of ending it, well and truly, with him, then that'd be better for both of us."  
Karen nodded softly. "I've already collected the forms to fill out for the divorce."  
"Wow." He breathed a little. "You didn't waste any time in getting _those_. You _are_ keen to wanna make this work with us."  
She smiled slightly. "I'm going to hand them to him tonight…"  
"Hang on. Are you sure you should do that by yourself?"  
She placed her hands on Chris's wrists. "I don't want you hurt."  
"But the times before…he'll _hurt_ you."  
Karen stroked him reassuringly. "Don't worry, I can take care of this _myself_."  
"A-and _after_?" He gave her a shy kiss on her cheek. "You'll come to _mine_?"  
Her smile never lifted itself from her. "I'd better stay put, thanks all the same."

Later that night.  
Charlie prowled dangerously in the hall, as Karen arrived. "You're late again."  
She said nothing, but nonchalantly handed him the divorce papers.  
"What's all _this_ for?"  
"Read it, you might learn something." She put to him icily.  
His eyes hardened callously as he realised what it was she'd given to him. "You deceitful little _whore_."  
Karen didn't even flinch at being called that.  
"I know why you're doing this. It's just so you can go and play happy families with that _toy boy_ of yours. Isn't it?"  
She inched a little further away, seeing the hits she knew were coming.  
"Answer me when I'm talking to you."  
She still said nothing, and almost regretted doing so, when she felt something swipe her hard across her face. She was blown back against the floor, hitting her shoulder blade on the skirting board. She was sure she'd bruised it quite badly.  
Charlie hadn't given up on teaching her a lesson; he landed a kick to her side, just beneath her ribcage.  
Karen clutched her stomach in pain, almost doubled over from the intense aching. She saw him disappear, and she weakly got up; she hurriedly got her coat on and left the house.

Chris was sure he heard frantic banging coming from below outside; frowning, he got out of bed, went downstairs and opened the front door.  
Karen stumbled onto the floor, half inside the porch area, and half outside of it.  
"God…Karen, are you all right?" He bent down beside her, noticing she was breathing quite badly. "What's _happened_ to you?"  
She couldn't answer, as the ache in her ribs prevented her from breathing; that in turn prevented her from responding all that well. She _knew_ Chris was right there next to her; there was no doubt in her mind about _that_.  
He shakily looked around, not seeing anyone else about. "I'd better get you inside." He pulled her in, careful not to hurt her. "And maybe get you to a hospital."  
"No." Karen dimly protested, through her erratic breathing. "No, don't do that."  
"But you're not breathing all that well and you could've _broken_ something."  
She shakily gazed up at him, noticing he was gazing at her worriedly. "Please, Chris…don't take me to a hospital."  
Reluctantly, Chris picked her up in his arms as she latched onto him insistently; he wasn't sure if she should really be without medical help, but she obviously knew more about what had happened.


	33. Chapter 33

Chris carefully got Karen to bed, worried sick at how badly she was breathing; he swept a hand over her forehead, as a pale colour started to tinge her already fair skin. "It's better if you get medical help, Karen…let me get you some."  
She shook her head. "It's ok, I've just had my breath knocked out of me, that's all."  
"It sounds _worse_ than that." He perched himself on the bed quite close to her. "He must've given you quite a knock."  
"A _kick_, more like."  
He frowned a little. "I-I don't understand…why didn't you wanna come over here? Maybe this wouldn't have happened."  
Karen placed a hand on Chris's. "I just wanted to get it over and done with."  
"What, giving him the divorce forms?"  
She nodded faintly, feeling her throat close up from the strain of breathing.  
He disappeared, coming back with some water. "This'll help to loosen your throat."  
She took a few drinks of it, allowing him to take it from her whilst she got herself more comfortable. "Plus I didn't want him to get any more paranoid about what's going on with you and me."  
Chris narrowed his eyes at her. "I don't see how much worse it can possibly get. He knows we're sleeping with each other, the only other way this situation with him can escalate is if I make you _pregnant_."  
Karen smirked a little. "Well, that's highly unlikely, isn't it?"  
"Not always." He came closer to her. "Back to the point, he's not going to get any more paranoid about us. _He's _the only one who knows the full extent of what we've been up to and he's likely to keep that to himself."  
She let him help her to sit up.  
"As for you, you should stay here for a few days till you feel better." He noticed her expression become more crestfallen. "I know it's not what you want, and I'm sorry. But you've been hurt quite badly and I saw the state you were in when I found you."  
"But I feel better now." Especially since Chris happened to be right _next _to her.  
Chris got up from where he'd perched himself. "I know, but when _I _got hit like that, I put up a fight about not wanting to rest, but to be fair, it's the _best_ way to go about this. You probably only _bruised_ it – in which case you're in a _better_ state than how _I _was."  
Karen smiled softly. "Thanks for letting me stay here."  
"That's ok, not a problem. I still don't understand why you didn't come over here in the first place." He still felt confused – and why was it bothering him? "I guess I shouldn't worry about it for now. Just try and get some sleep, ok?"

The next day.  
Jess did _not_ want to be there, she really didn't.  
"You know what? I don't think I've seen one right answer so far from what I've gone through." Chris drew another cross next to her answer. "I'm not even sure I've got the right person sitting in front of me."  
She nonchalantly cast her gaze away.  
"This isn't even _acceptable_." He disappointedly wrote her score under her last answer. "You didn't even pass."  
Jess then felt his intent gaze on her.  
"Is there a reason for this to be happening, Jess?" Chris crossed his arms over his chest. "You _knew _the answers to those. Don't think I wanted to draw crosses all the way through your answers for _fun_."  
"I know I didn't do that well, but…"

"If you wanna call it that. I don't think you even _tried_."

"I haven't been that _well_, if you've got to know." She could tell he wasn't overly impressed with her answer, as he cast his gaze away in an unconcerned way.  
"Whatever feelings you have for me…creating lies in order to get me to feel sorry for you isn't going to make that happen and it certainly won't make this any better."  
"It's not what you _think_, I'm _pregnant_."  
Chris kept his pen poised, a little surprised at her revelation. "You _what_? Since when have you known about this?"  
"For a while." Jess flitted her gaze away, avoiding his slightly worried look. "As if I was going to mention anything to _you_ anyway."  
"Does your mum know?" That was his _biggest_ worry of all – and what if she _didn't_? He could only imagine at how hurt she would've felt.  
"No." She glared at him, not putting him off at all.  
"Well don't you think she _should_?"  
"What _are_ you, my doctor?"  
He shook off that comment; he might as well have let her be immature about it, if that was what she wanted. "Ok, well…back to this, I wanna see an improvement."  
"_You_ should try winding up pregnant and having to throw up every morning." She spitefully put to him.  
Again, he thought nothing of that comment either. "Well I can't imagine it'd be all that nice, so I'd rather I _didn't_." He gazed at her steadily. "If you want _any_ of my advice, I would suggest you tell your mum, Jess."  
"Why all this concern for _her_?" Her glare turned harder, and dare he admitted it, but there was a flash of _jealousy_ present in her eyes. "What has _she_ done to deserve all _your_ attention all of a sudden?"  
"I'm just concerned about her, I _am_ friends with her." _That isn't all about what we are,_ Chris thought about adding, but decided to leave his answer at just that.  
Jess seized the practice paper from him, not fazing him at all by her aggressive behaviour.  
"Remember what I said…ok?"  
She was _through_ with his unconcerned attitude with her. Did he suddenly not _care_ that she was pregnant, even though it wasn't _his_? "And if you want _my_ advice, I would suggest you keep out of my private life from now on."  
Chris said nothing to this. _She_ was the one who told him she was pregnant and was behaving like she didn't care what happened to it. Sooner or later that baby was growing by the second and Karen was _bound_ to start asking questions if she still didn't know. That would all happen only a few months down the line.  
But he still didn't like the idea of Karen barely knowing anything about it.  
Jess sharply glared at him, realising she wasn't succeeding at fazing him, and disappeared out of the room. 


	34. Chapter 34

Karen slowed her movements against Chris, as he kept his arms wrapped around her. "Mmm…you make this feel so good." She gasped as she felt his fingertips work into her shoulder blades; her body was all the more sensitive when he touched her like that, afterglow or no afterglow.  
"Well, I aim to please."  
"O-oh…you do just _that_." She unwrapped her legs from around his waist, situating herself back into bed next to him.  
"So was that the best or…have I got to improve on it?" Chris put to her teasingly.  
Karen smiled playfully. "I can't see any faults with what _you've_ been doing."  
He pulled her closer to him, planting a soft kiss on her cheek. "How long have we been together now?"  
"Too long to count." She joked.  
He rolled onto his stomach, gazing over at her. "From _my_ guessing, I'd say we've been together for at least four months."  
She gently folded a stray bang back to where it should've been away from his eye.  
Chris dimly flitted his gaze away. What Jess had told him was still playing on his mind and he _had_ to tell Karen.  
"You seem awfully preoccupied." She noted, coming closer. "Not thinking of having another go, are you? You've got the libido of a _rabbit_ lately."  
"No. No, it's not that." He didn't flit his gaze back to her, retaining his pensiveness.  
"Ok, Chris. You're worrying me now." She followed his gaze, which didn't seem to be anywhere in particular – almost as though his eyes had glazed over. She knew he wasn't the sort of person to keep his feelings in check, and he seemed to be struggling to hold _this_ small problem back. "Everything ok?" She traced her finger along the underside of his jaw, stroking him there comfortingly.  
"There's something I wanna tell you, Karen." Chris eventually managed to say. "But you might not like it."  
Karen leant back slightly, taking in his posture.  
"I know I was told not to say anything, but it's up to me to look after you, and I'd feel that I _wouldn't _be by not doing so."  
"What is it you wanted to say?"  
He shakily sat up, allowing her to sit up also and place a hand on his thigh. She stroked him there comfortingly, trying to ease the anxiety he was obviously feeling in anticipation for what he was going to say. "It's about Jess."  
She seemed confused. "Has she said something? Does she know about us?"  
He shook his head. "She hasn't been doing that well, so I asked her if there was anything wrong…"  
She smirked. "Good luck trying to get anything out of _that_ girl."  
"Sh-she told me she hadn't been that well."  
"_Really_?"  
Chris brought his legs up to his chest. "Has she been off sick at all or been feeling under the weather lately?"  
Karen shrugged. "Not that I know of. She doesn't usually tell me she feels unwell anyway. What has this got to do with us?"  
"It doesn't concern _me_ as much as it would concern _you_. But it's something you _should_ know, Karen." He placed his hands around her wrists. "Jess is _pregnant_."  
A glassy look came into her eyes and she slowly pulled away. Her reaction was of one Chris had hoped she didn't have.  
He didn't say anything; he didn't even want to break her out of the wrapped up trance she seemed to have put herself into.  
The best thing would've been to just let her adjust in her _own_ time.

The next day.  
Jess was under the impression she was being followed; she was sure she could hear a very faint car engine from behind her and she glanced round to see her mum tailgating her. Annoyed, she stopped and came to her window, demanding to know what she was doing.  
Karen wound the window down. "We need to talk."  
Resignedly, Jess got into the front passenger seat, avoiding her mum's hard look at her, although still trying to concentrate on where she was going.  
"So how far gone are you?"  
She was thunderstruck. She _pleaded_ with Chris not to tell her! "I-I thought that Mr Mead…"

"_Mr Mead_ was looking out for you as well as myself, young lady." Karen retorted sharply.  
"If that's what you really think of him…" Jess just thought he _grassed_ on her.  
"Well, I'm sorry if you feel like he's blown your cover, Jess, but I'm your _mother_ and I have a right to know about these things."  
"Oh really? Like what?"  
Karen parked up and kept her icy gaze on her. "Like who the _father _is might be a good start."  
She peered down dimly. "Just some guy I picked up one night…"  
"Oh, Jess." She tore her gaze away from her sharply. "How could you? And how many times must you do this?"

"I can still abort it."  
She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her _daughter_ was thinking of aborting a baby she inadvertently got? "How can you be so _cold-blooded_?" Her voice came out as a gasp.

Jess nonchalantly got out of the car. "I can take care of myself, mum. All I need to do is take some pills that kill it."

"You're doing nothing of the sort, young lady." Karen watched her go. "You've got this baby, and you're as sure as hell not getting rid of it."  
"Then I'm moving out." She retorted sharply. "I can move out and stay with him. Then we can be one happy family – I'll be in a happier one than the one I was in a long time ago with _you_."

Later on that morning.  
Chris came in, prompting Karen to go from feeling anxious and uptight to relieved and relaxed. "You look like you need a pick-me-up." He teased.  
"Am I glad to see a friendly face." She admitted breathlessly.  
He smiled softly, sliding over to her desk. "You even _sound_ like you need one." He placed his hands on her shoulders and he sidled behind her. "Someone putting your back up already?"  
Karen shook her head, feeling the tension immediately melt away from her body as he rubbed her. "Just my own daughter."  
Chris kept the rubbing going. "She didn't take it well, did she?"

_Lucky guess_. She thought. "How did you guess?"  
He smirked. "Because I've only just had her set. And she didn't exactly make it easy for me this time."  
She closed her eyes from how relaxed he made her feel.  
"You know, if you feel like getting away from it for a bit, don't feel like you can't come over."  
Karen smiled softly. "I'd love to do that, Chris. Thank you."  
"You're welcome." Chris slowed the rubbing and then stopped. "Just let me know when you're coming over, ok? Then I can give you all the TLC you want."


	35. Chapter 35

"You didn't have to go the trouble of _getting_ me anything." Karen chided Chris, as he collected their plates.  
"Don't be so silly." He chided back. "You had it rough. What's wrong with letting you take it easy for once?"

She smirked a little. "_You've _had it bad too though."  
"Well, yeah. But in my case, when it comes from the same person, it's nothing special." He positioned himself next to her.  
"Jess has been making it hard for you too?"  
Chris shrugged. "Only because she still has feelings for me."  
"Careful, you." Karen tapped him on his thigh playfully. "You don't want to be going out with _two_ Fishers on the go, do you?"  
"Not afraid of the _competition_, are you, Karen?" He smirked playfully, claiming her mouth with his for a very deep kiss.  
Their tongues playfully lashed against each other, before withdrawing.  
She gasped at the heat pushing its way through her.  
"You know I would go for _you_ over _her_." He whispered softly, that seductively sweet scent drawing her further up against him. "And I'm not afraid to admit that."  
Karen nodded dimly, gazing into Chris's bright blue eyes.  
"The thing that bothers me the most is that I don't want her to lumber you with looking after her baby."  
"She might not even _have_ it, Chris."

"What?"

She felt his hand move to her lower back, caressing her there slowly. "Jess told me on the way in that she wanted to abort it."  
"She can't do that." He stated firmly. "She can go to any doctor she wants, but they won't let her take anything."  
"Why is that?" Karen asked him softly.  
He flitted his gaze away. "She's had the baby for too long if she wanted to do it the easy way with _tablets_. And I don't think _any_ doctor would allow an abortion for the simple fact that she doesn't _want_ it."  
"S-so she's going to have it?"  
"Pretty much." Chris gazed back at her. "But I think it was just another way of getting attention. She has got her ways of doing that – I should know."  
She nodded dimly. "I guess you're right there."  
"She's going to have to learn how to look after it when it _does_ come." He put to her supportively. "_You _managed that with three of them."  
"Not on my own, though…"  
"Doesn't matter." He turned more to face her. "For _her_, it's going to be a whole life-changing experience, whether she'll like it or not. Don't let her lumber you with it, because I know deep down that she will."  
Karen shook her head. "How am I going to do that, though? I can't get that through to her."  
"I'm sorry, but you're just going to have to _try_ to." Chris pressed her. "Don't think I'm not aware of the way she treats you, Karen, because I _am _aware of it."  
She moved her gaze to the floor. She felt…_strange_.  
"Are you feeling ok?" He could sense that she didn't feel right.  
"I-I just…feel so odd." She saw him tilt his head attentively. "Not odd…I guess _disappointed_."  
"You mean with Jess?" He assumed.

She nodded faintly. "Is that wrong for me to feel like that?"

"No, I don't think so. I think that's quite normal." He sat closer to her. "You know, _I'm _quite disappointed with her also."  
"Chris…" Karen placed a hand on his thigh. "Don't feel bad. None of this is _your_ fault. You did the right thing by telling me in the first place."  
"No, I'm disappointed with her for another reason." He put to her slowly.  
"Has she said something to you?" She asked him.  
Chris lowered his head. He felt like he'd let her down _excessively _by what he was going to say. "Jess told me she was dropping out."  
"Sh-she can't do that." She noted, incredulous.  
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…"  
"This is not your fault."  
"B-but I feel like I've let you down. In some ways, I've even felt like I've let _her_ down."  
"Chris…" Karen took hold of his hands and rubbed him at his wrists. "You've done nothing more than try to do your job. Don't be sorry for anything."  
Chris watched her get up and walk over to the window.  
"How can she think of throwing away her education to end up getting pregnant?" She felt a tear roll down her cheek.  
He went over to her, taking her in his arms. "_She_ made that decision. Not you." He pulled her up against his body, feeling her shudder from further tears threatening to fall.  
"She's so _irresponsible_."  
"But that's not your fault. You didn't raise her incorrectly. That's just the way it goes."  
Karen nodded dimly, feeling her breath get taken away when Chris tilted her head up and gently wiped the tears away with his fingertips.  
"Let's get you to bed." His voice came over soothing and comforting. "Before all this upset wears you out."  
She felt herself get pulled into the bedroom and helped to sit down on the bed; the muscles in her body felt loose from shock.  
Chris slowly and carefully started to undress her; she let him continue as she felt his lips on her neck, kissing away the pain. "I'll make you feel better."  
"C-Chris…"  
"Relax now." He slipped her cardigan off her. "You need to sleep."  
Karen felt herself submitting to his affectionate behaviour; he took her top off that happened to be underneath her cardigan, and slid his fingers under the waistband of her skirt.  
He was sure her eyelids were feeling heavier by the second, as he removed her clothes and dropped them all onto the floor neatly.  
She closed her eyes, feeling hot shocks penetrate her and go to the more unlikeliest parts of her body; the sweet scent on Chris's fair skin got stronger as he pressed himself up against her back.  
"Come on, in you get." He wasn't going to tell her again; he slipped into bed first, gazing up at her to do the same.  
Unsurely, Karen did as he wanted her to, feeling the muscles in her body aching as if to resist.  
Chris wrapped his arms around her, pressing her up against him; he sweetly planted a kiss on the top of her head, taking in the fresh scent in amongst her hair. "You shouldn't be worrying about Jess anymore. You're with _me_ now."  
"I-I know, but…"  
"I'm here to keep you safe now."  
The warmth between them was lulling her to sleep, and she relaxed herself into his embrace.  
Satisfied that she'd gotten to sleep with no fuss, he did the same, knowing that she felt safe with him.


	36. Chapter 36

Chris came over to Karen's, letting himself in with the spare keys she'd given to him; he saw her wearily sitting down, noticing how much the whole ordeal, mainly Jess's _pregnancy_, had taken its toll on her. "I think you should be somewhere else."  
She smiled to herself at his comment. "Somewhere like what?"  
"Oh, I don't know…somewhere more relaxing…and with someone who's _more_ than happy to look after you."  
"Wouldn't happen to be _you_, would it?"  
He smirked playfully. "Lucky guess."

Karen felt the tiredness in her muscles get the better of her. "It'd be a bit naughty, would it?"

"Why would it?" Chris perched himself on the sofa next to her. "To be fair, I don't think you're really looking out for yourself right now."  
"And _you_ would know, would you?" Why not play along with him?  
He leant closer, more further forward. "Have you looked in the _mirror_ lately?"  
"Why?"  
He paused slightly. "Karen, when was the last time you _ever_ got any sleep?"  
"Proper sleep?" She flitted her gaze away. "I-I don't know…some time ago."  
"Would it be fair if I make that a week or two?" He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I don't know about you, but I think it's only fair if you come back to mine with me…get some _proper_ sleep where you're not likely to be woken up."  
"Chris, I don't want you _babysitting_ me…" Although she knew full well he was doing nothing of the sort. He was _worried_ about her. But he knew what she was like inside – she was likely to want to handle things by herself, which was just something she was always used to doing. It wasn't _healthy_, of course. "And if her baby is _due_ soon…"  
"Although the fact remains that you have a connection with it when it comes, you shouldn't be worrying persistently like this."  
Karen shook her head.  
"Once we both get back, I would get you to bed." He could make out very faint dark circles under her eyes.  
"If you think I should…"  
"You want me to come back once you've gotten yourself sorted or would you rather I wait here?"  
That was a point. Jess was only literally upstairs, as was _Harry_.  
"Is it ok if you come back? I'm worried we'll get found out."  
Chris's posture didn't change – neither did his expression. He understood. "No, that's fine. I understand."

After Chris had gone, Jess came down the stairs. "Why was _he_ here?"  
Karen felt the tiredness settle more in her muscles. "Leave it out, Jess."  
"How did he get in?"  
"For your information, we're very good friends. Also, I trust him enough to come and go as of when he _wants_. I trust him more so than _you_ after lying to me so many times."  
She scowled at her. "Well, if that's the way you feel, I may as well just move out."  
"Go ahead." She retorted sharply. "Do us all a favour and go."  
Jess stormed out, sharply slamming the door behind her and making Karen almost jump out of the sofa. It didn't do much more than that, except give her a very nasty headache.

"I'm sorry about all this." Karen gave Chris a guilty look as he waited for her to get into the car. "You must think I'm weak to keep coming to you all the time."  
"No, not at all." He pulled away effortlessly; it _always_ amazed her when he did so. "It was _my _idea to take you back with me. And don't ever say that you're weak. You're just stressed, that's all. Understandably so, as well, with everything that's going on in there."  
She nodded dimly, still feeling weighed down from tension.  
Once they'd pulled up, Chris gazed over at her, a worried expression becoming more apparent on his face. "I think the first thing we should do is to get you relaxed." He placed a hand on hers "So…you up for a shower or something a little bit _steamier_?"  
Karen felt chills slide down her back at the thought of sharing either a hot bath _or_ shower with him. _Either _of the two would work out to be _steamy_, because of what they would be _doing_ together! She could sense the subtle suggestiveness in his voice, which made him seem all the more _naughty_.  
Not really having a preference of the two, she shyly flitted her gaze away.  
He smirked at her posture; it was one of excitement, yet still seemed considerably weighed down with exhaustion. "Well…either way, we won't be able to do much if we're going to have our _clothes_ on through it."

It didn't take long for the bathroom to get _incredibly _steamy; a thick mist had built up – in amongst it, both of their bodies slid against each other as they neared their peaks.  
Karen tangled her fingers in amongst Chris's wet hair, as the water had made it almost black; he pressed his lips into her neck, holding her closely to him and shakily stopping his movements against her.  
They stayed like that for some time. His arms wrapped around her waist with his hands pressing into her back in order to keep her as close to him as he could.  
She shuddered all over from pleasure as she stroked the back of his head and twirled a few long strands with her fingers.  
Chris gazed up at her dimly. "You sure you wanna stay for the night?"  
Karen faintly nodded. "If it means staying with you…"  
He helped her out as she started to dry herself and then get dressed again. "You're getting tired from stressing out and it's not helping you."  
She gazed at him softly.  
He couldn't help but admire her shapely figure; in his opinion she looked good for someone of her age. "Can I be really honest with you about something?"  
She watched him slide over to her and take her hands with his. "Well…sure."  
"I think I'm starting to find it hard to stay away from you for too long." He admitted.

She gazed at him slowly. Ok, he certainly had his way of winning over people with his kicked-puppy expression, but she felt there was something _more_ going on with him.  
"Does that sound stupid to you?"  
"I don't think so." Karen could make out a slight coyness in his bright blue eyes. She almost found it _adorable_.  
Chris seemed to think that it _did_ come out a bit stupid, and he pulled himself away. "Forget I said that. It probably didn't even mean anything."  
She nodded slowly, and brought herself up against him. "Thanks for letting me stay with you."  
"How many times?" He pulled her into his arms. "It's not a problem. Stay as long as you want…ok?"


	37. Chapter 37

"You sure you won't stay for another night?" Chris sounded crestfallen, as he followed Karen to the outside door; he wished she could stay with him _all_ the time. But at that point in time, it just wasn't possible.  
He reluctantly stood in the porch's doorway, as she stood out in the frosty air. "And I was getting used to having someone to sleep with."  
"Aww…well, I'll make it up to you somehow." Karen found herself gazing into his bright blue eyes that shimmered enticingly. They were impossible to resist – almost.  
Chris slowly leant forward, pressing his lips to hers; both of them felt pleasurable pulses go through their bodies as they connected. He gasped softly as they withdrew from each other. "Th-that was the best kiss I've _ever_ had." He admitted breathlessly.

She smiled seductively. "Don't you mean the best _parting_ kiss you've ever had?"  
He nodded dimly. "I'd better let you go – before anyone suspects anything and you get back too late."  
Karen stroked him under his jaw. "Well, we can continue with our naughty little shenanigans tomorrow morning if you want."  
"T-tomorrow morning?"  
She nodded sultrily. "My office…first thing."

Karen woke up the next morning; she thought that after sleeping on the sofa all night she would've put her back out but it didn't really hurt all that much.  
She softly smirked at what she could _possibly_ do to Chris. On the floor wasn't a bad idea, although over the desk…well…she was sure he could be up for something more unusual.  
Bearing that thought in mind, she started to make tracks to get to work, hopefully before _him_.

Karen got in to the office, surprised to find the door was already _unlocked_. She frowned at that. Surely she locked it the previous night…  
The sight that met her eyes was of one she wasn't likely to forget for a while.

Chris had positioned himself on the sofa, wearing absolutely nothing – he gazed up at her as she came in, his expression becoming more innocent.  
"Well…you've certainly caught me out – in more ways than one." She cast her admiring gaze on his young, supple body, resting it squarely on the area between his flat middle and broad chest. She hadn't banked on him coming in earlier than her.  
"I've given you a nice surprise, have I?" He shuddered in excitement, as he watched her lock the door behind her and then proceed to strip down. "Looks like I'm going to be in trouble."  
"You could say that." Karen slid herself onto the sofa next to the young male, placing her hand on top of his flat stomach and rubbing her thumb over his navel.  
"So what now?"  
She smiled sultrily. "Well…take a wild guess."  
"You know this _is_ naughty." Chris moved his legs apart as she pressed herself up against him.  
"Well then." She teasingly slid her index finger around his navel. "Maybe you shouldn't have _tempted_ me the way you have."  
He closed his eyes as she wrapped her arms around his waist; he arched his back, pressing the front of his body up into hers.  
Karen was surprised at how _flexible_ he was; her hips glided up onto his, as they moved together. "Serves you right for being so _sexy_."  
Chris wasn't exactly sure _what_ he felt as they submitted themselves to each other; the entire experience was _pleasurable_, sure, but he felt something _else_.  
Something even _more_ powerful.  
Having enough of being done on the sofa and almost killing the amazingly hot feelings he started to have, he placed his hands on her hips, as if to ground her. "You wanna take this somewhere else?"  
"Why?" She peered down at him, pushing her hips down onto his again. "Do you not like this?"  
"No. No, I _do_…but we could take this somewhere more private. There _are_ cameras in this room, you know."  
"So?" Karen didn't seem too bothered. "Let them _see_ this."  
Chris whimpered when she brought her lips down onto his and then claimed his mouth with hers for a passionate kiss.  
"Let the whole _world_ see what we get up to during our spare time together." She put to him wantonly.  
He arched his back even more, as her hands glided to the sides of his waist and pulled him further up to her.  
"It'll only be _us_ who get to see it anyway."  
He squirmed a little under her, refusing to give in to her demands for him to go. In doing so, it was causing the tension inside him to accumulate. "K-Karen…"  
Karen sultrily lapped her tongue over and against one heavily swollen and darkened nipple, unknowingly causing a hot flash to flare all the way through him. She savoured the sweet taste of him on her tongue, finding his writhing movements cute. "What is it you want?"  
"I…I…" Chris wasn't expecting her to sound almost…_dominant_. He wanted it to stop, but at the same time it was _exciting_ him. "I-I love you."  
Her answer was a playful flick against the hardened, swollen nub with the tip of her tongue. "I know you do."  
His breathing became more laboured as he shakily brought his hips up against her; the sheer realisation of doing it with his own _boss_ – someone _above_ him – was a turn-on in _itself_. It was _wrong_, but at the same time _excitingly hot_.  
The sounds Chris was eliciting had become more submissive – not entirely giving in to what she wanted but at the same time not holding back. He was in between both feelings, almost stuck halfway. In a way, he felt like he'd died a few times and gone to heaven. He didn't even know she'd had it in for him all that time.  
Each muscle in his body had gone completely rigid when the first small contractions of pleasure centred themselves around his hips and then forcefully pushed downward. It was an entirely new experience on its own.  
Karen had _never_ seen him experience as much excitement as _that_. It was a _very_ beautiful sight.  
She gazed down at Chris, noticing his eyes had tightly closed; a rosy colour had appeared at his cheeks, and his broad chest was heaving intensely, forcing out as little excitement as he could to keep the pleasure inside for longer. His hips were jolting erratically as each gradually tapering off contraction engulfed him.  
In her opinion, it was fair to say that she as good as _had_ him.  
She moved herself off him after realising that time was getting on; she shifted onto one end of the sofa and retrieved her clothes, as he did the same.  
"I have _never_ felt anything as good or as powerful like that before." He shakily admitted. "I know we've only done it a few times, but that was just…I can't explain it."  
Karen smiled softly. "Glad I could be of service to you."


	38. Chapter 38

After their bit of fun, Chris did his shirt back up. "S-so you had it in for me all that time?"  
Karen coyly looked away. "Well…I thought I'd keep tight lipped about it."  
"You certainly did that." Relieved that he had a few minutes to spare so he could give himself time to recover, he positioned himself against the radiator.  
"Hope I didn't take too much out of you."  
He smirked playfully. "I don't feel too bad." Should he have _said_ something about what he felt a few moments ago? He wasn't sure.  
"You seem awfully quiet."  
He peered down at the floor and then back at her. "I _felt_ something before I…you know…_went_."  
She tilted her head attentively. "Was it bad?" She hoped not. She wanted to make him just as happy as he did so with her.  
He shook his head. "I don't think so. I guess it felt good…it was just so powerful, I honestly can't tell you."  
"Maybe it was just a big release you had." Karen suggested. "I mean I certainly felt like that when you touched me that time."  
"Or maybe we're so connected with each other." Chris's gaze became more affectionate, yet confused at the same time. He felt _something_ for her, sure. He wouldn't have been with her otherwise. But was it a _crush_, simply sexual attraction, or dare he said it…_more_ than either of the two put together? The feelings and emotions he was experiencing were _none_ he'd _ever_ come across when with anyone else – sleeping with them or not. To some extent, it was confusing him.  
Karen was aware of how mixed-up Chris seemed to be; his posture was one of doubt yet at the same time he looked to be thinking things over. She definitely felt something for him, but she couldn't be sure if it was out and out love or simply…a _crush_.  
"I don't think this is something I can openly ignore anymore." He started slowly, not completely forgetting what he'd intended to tell her the night before. Maybe there _was_ nothing stupid about what he wanted to say.  
Karen grew worried. What the hell was he going on about? Of course, he'd already stated he would look after her and be there for her, which is something _no one_ had ever promised her. And the _sex_ they both had…they were definitely connected – emotionally and physically.  
"I think we were meant to be together, Karen." He put to her finally. "Strange as that might seem, this may be turning out to be something more than just a little…you know…fling."  
Karen watched as he slowly came over to her.

"I'm finding it _so_ hard to be apart from you for too long and I want this to be _more_ than an affair."  
She swallowed hard as he stroked the insides of her wrists.  
"I think I'm in love with you."  
She smiled dimly. "You've already said that."  
"I mean the _real_ sort." Chris's eyes sparkled more.  
Karen flitted her gaze away sharply. In terms of what he was saying, it was clear that he meant _true love_. A pretty idealistic view, of course. But it didn't exactly come from a highly idealistic _person_. She wanted to be with him, but what _for_? Protection? Sex? Support? She knew it was for _all_ of those things which both of them _fulfilled_, but _love_…actual _true love_…that was something that shouldn't be taken _lightly_. "I feel something for you, but I'm not sure what."  
The sparkle didn't leave the young male's eyes. "You need time to think it over."  
"It's not that I don't _love_ you, Chris, because I _do_. But I don't think what I feel for you is _enough_."  
"You've lived with a violent partner and you've been through a traumatic experience. It's obvious you wouldn't exactly trust your innermost feelings at the moment." He noted understandably. "But when you _do_ feel ready, we should talk more about being together in a more _permanent_ sense."  
Karen nodded dimly. "I feel a bit rushed at the moment."

"That's one thing I don't want you to feel." Chris assured her. "But once we _are_ more of a couple, we're going to have to tell _everyone_. A more definite relationship is one that shouldn't really be kept a _secret_. Ones like this _should_ for obvious reasons. You're still married and it'd mean the end for _both_ of us if anyone else knew about what we get up to."  
She looked away, prompting him to get her to look into his tempting blue eyes.  
"Take all the time you want." He put to her gently. "However long it takes, I will not change the way I feel about you. Even if it takes _three months_, I'm not going to go and jump into bed with someone else. I don't wanna do that if I'm to be with _you _and you feel as strongly about me as I do about you."

Once Chris had left Karen by herself when his sets were due, she tried to concentrate, unable to get what he said out of her head.

Tom came into the room, noticing her pensive expression. "Don't tell me you're already having it rough?"  
"What?" She peered up at him. "No. No, of course not...just in deep thought."  
"You've been doing a lot of _that_ lately." He lightly teased, sliding over to her desk. "It's not about what's going on between you and a certain _deputy head_, is it?"  
She smiled softly. "Well, Chris _did_ say something that's made me think, that's all."

"Oh." It was _his_ turn to smile. "Sounds ominous."  
Karen went back to what she was writing, but the words she wanted to write down _weren't_ coming out to her. She sat back, noticing Tom had come closer to her.  
"I don't doubt that he _does _feel very strongly about you, Karen." He put to her. "I can tell from the pair of you that you have a very strong connection."  
She nodded. "But is that _enough_, Tom?"  
He frowned a little.  
"I don't know how strongly _I_ feel for _him_."  
Tom perched himself on her desk, gazing at her steadily. "You're _attracted_ to him, right?"  
"Very much so." Karen could so easily get lost in his big, bright blue eyes; they looked all the more enticing when such little light shone into them, making them glisten and sparkle. "I know that I feel _more_ for him than I did when I was with _Charlie_."  
"How so?"  
She flitted her gaze away. "Charlie had been _assaulting_ me, Tom."  
"So when Chris got attacked that time…it was because he was _protecting_ you?"

She nodded dimly. "I told him all about what Charlie did to me…he understood how slow I wanted to take it."

He shrugged. "So what's the problem? What is it that's making you hold your feelings back?"

Karen didn't seem sure herself. "I-I don't know…you'd have thought that to be with someone who was willing to protect and look after you, it would make your relationship with that person that much stronger. And Chris has done _nothing_ but protect me."  
Tom gazed at her more openly.  
"I think I've had too many abusive relationships to really _trust_ anyone anymore." She admitted sadly.  
"But if he's already said to go at _your_ pace, that's fine, isn't it?"  
"I don't think that's _enough_." She felt her pores almost weigh her down. "How long would it take to fully recover from a sexual assault I couldn't stop and then a several-year marriage that ended in abuse? Would he _really_ want to be with someone who's had a less than favourable past?"

He went to go. "You just need to think more about what you want out of it. But I wouldn't go as far as to _mistrust_ him, Karen. He's a _good_ kid."  
Karen nodded dimly. "I don't want him to think any less of me…"

"I don't think it'll _ever_ get that far."


	39. Chapter 39

Chris was _also_ finding it hard to concentrate; after he and Karen had been talking about making their relationship _that_ much more open, he was starting to worry that she didn't feel the same way about him _at all_.  
For some reason, the idea of her simply using him for sex hadn't completely escaped him.  
Tom came into his room. "Can't concentrate?"  
The younger male jumped in his chair, but relaxed when he came in.  
"You and Karen make a _right_ pair." He taunted lightly.  
"Why's that?"  
He smirked. "Because you both look like you can't concentrate all that well."  
Chris seemed more pensive. "Could you give her a note?"  
"Why, what's that for?" Tom placed a hand on his shoulder. "Not planning _another_ secret rendezvous, are you, naughty?"  
"What? No!" He finished writing out the small note. "No…I just want you to give this to her."

Morning break came.  
Tom handed Karen the small note. "Chris told me to give this to you."  
Confused, she took it. She didn't want to be rushed into the whole idea of sex when he hadn't given her enough time to think it over!  
Luckily, the note made no mention of having pure, passionate sex in the office after work; nor did it make any mention of asking her to stay round his place for the night and sleep with him.  
"So what does it say then? If you don't mind me asking."  
"He just wants to meet up for lunch, that's all."  
Tom smirked playfully. "Oh, but is that _all_ he wants?"  
Karen shrugged. "He's just trying to be friendly, Tom…I mean, there's nothing wrong with me going out with a bloke for sociable reasons."  
"Maybe you should just try to play hard to get." He came closer to her.  
"Tom, I…"

He snaked his arms around her waist. "Come _on_, where's the problem? There's nothing wrong with having a bit of…friendly _competition_."  
Their lips came dangerously close to kissing – within touching distance.  
The door opened, and Chris started to come in; what he saw _shocked_ him. His eyes widened in stark horror, as he saw their bodies pressed up together.  
Tom slowly gazed at him, whilst Karen pulled herself away from him.  
"It's not what you think." She protested.  
"M-maybe I should come back _later_." He went to quickly go again, only to have Karen follow him and grab him by his shirt sleeve.  
"I didn't mean to _kiss_ him…Chris, I'm so sorry."  
"It certainly seemed that you didn't mean to, you were all over each other." He placed his hands on his hips. "Karen, I know we're not officially together, but if we _are_ considering being in a more open relationship and you're going around doing things like this…what was going through your head?"  
"He thought I should play hard to get."

Chris tilted his head and his eyes became dim with confusion. "You're not sixteen years old anymore."  
"I know." Karen drew in a deep breath, and tightened her grip on his arms. "I know how immature this all seems, and I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry."  
He shook his head hazily. "I thought you were _better_ than that." He was ready to go, already hearing _and_ seeing enough.  
"Where are you going?"  
"Back to my _work_ – like what _you_ two should be doing."  
Tom watched Chris slowly and dazedly go off; he saw Karen heavily sit back down in her chair. "I'm sorry."  
She flitted her gaze to the desk. "Don't worry, I think his anger was more directed onto _me_ than you, you're safe."  
"He's pretty harmless when it comes to him expressing his anger over things like this." He assured her. "Talk to him later…he might've calmed down."  
Karen placed her hand on his wrist. "I think I might've really _hurt_ him, Tom."  
"What…really?"  
"I just have a suspicion that he'll go and do something really _stupid_."

Karen tried to get in touch with Chris _all day_ after their small spat; he didn't even bother coming to see her when afternoon break came round, and when she _did_ "accidentally" patrol where he would _usually_ be, he was _never_ there.  
She kept sending him text message after text message after work when she knew he would be back home, but he did _nothing_ to acknowledge her advances – he simply deleted each text as it came through.

As soon as he got back. Chris felt so exhausted from the shock of what he'd seen, that he went straight to bed; he stayed awake from the time he dropped down onto it, finding it _useless _in falling asleep.  
What he'd seen happen between Karen and Tom kept going over and over in his mind; he _still_ couldn't understand what the pair of them were even _thinking_. Was it all some nasty little ploy to well and truly stop him from seeing her?  
Or was Tom still jealous of him having some form of a relationship with her?  
He rolled onto his side, gazing out of the window. Every time he thought back to when they were both…_like that_, it made him feel sick to his stomach.

He heard his mobile vibrating on the nightstand, and he hazily picked it up, glaring at the screen when he found that it was actually _Karen_ calling him.  
Deciding that enough _was_ truly _enough_, he answered her.  
"Thank god you've picked up." She sounded worried.  
Fazed by the worry in her voice but putting it down to nothing in particular, Chris sat up. "What more do you _want_ from me? As if kissing someone else wasn't enough…"

"Chris, it's Jess."

That quietened him down, although he still wasn't fully accepting it…He knew that Jess had a habit of making things up and drawing attention to herself. "Why are you telling me about her?"

"She's gone into labour."  
He flitted his gaze to the window. "Well where is she?"

"She's still at home."  
"Karen, it's not doing her any good to stay there. She should be taken to the A + E."  
"That's the thing…she wanted a _home birth_. And she gets agitated around hospitals."  
Chris _could_ associate with her in that sense; he _hated_ hospitals just as much as the next person. "So why are you calling me exactly?"

There came a pause at Karen's end. "I thought _you_ might be able to help."  
"Because I'm a _science teacher_, that's what it's about, isn't it?" What was the point of getting her to tell him that herself? "I'm not a qualified _doctor_."  
"But how hard can it be?"

"I know it's hard enough because I've never done it." He didn't even see the point in protesting anymore. She was asking him, heck, he was probably the _only_ person who she would've asked. And besides, if no one else was going to help with a home birth, and Jess was refusing to go to a hospital, then there was a strong chance she would _lose_ it.  
And that wouldn't look good if he and Karen were trying to become more of a _couple_…

_Would_ it?


	40. Chapter 40

Karen hastily let Chris in. "You've gotten here quick."  
"How long has she been in labour for?"  
She had to think. "For some time. That was why she wasn't in all day…" She grabbed him by his jacket sleeve and pulled him back. "Thanks _ever_ so much for coming over to help with this."  
He peered down at the floor, not knowing where else to look. "Why I'm here is not because of you and I." When she nodded in acknowledgement, he carried on. "I'm only here because you _asked_ me to come."  
"Plus you would've known a bit more about this."  
"Why is it that people in _my_ field of teaching get seen as _doctors_?" He sounded a little hard done-by. "I know _nothing_ about stuff like this."  
"Chris, please…help her."  
Chris swallowed hard, as he felt Karen's hand move to his wrist and tighten its grip on him. It wasn't that he didn't _want_ to, but he was being asked to help _someone_ who had caused him a few problems. Or should he have said, caused a few problems for _both_ of them. "Where is she?"  
"She's in her room…she hasn't moved from there since last night." She led him up to where Jess was lying, noticing she had curled herself up.  
"Well first of all she shouldn't be lying like that." He told Karen nonchalantly. He knew full well that Jess didn't care either way if the baby came out alive or not, so he didn't know why he was bothering. "She should be on her back."  
"Why is _he_ here?" She glared at Chris, still not working at fazing him with her deathly gaze.

"He's here because he's trying to help you."  
"I'd rather I let it _die_."  
"Oh. Well…thanks for the vote of confidence." He folded his arms across his chest and nonchalantly flitted his gaze away from her. "You know, if I'd have had this _my_ way, Jess, I wouldn't even _be_ here helping you."  
"Jess, please…let him help you. Else the baby will end up sick. Even _you_ might end up sick if you don't listen to us." Karen pleaded with her.  
Looking daggers at Chris a _second_ time, Jess rolled her eyes up at the ceiling, and lied down on her back. "If I _must_…"  
"What now?" She turned to him, as he didn't seem too sure.  
"God, my stomach feels like it's going to explode…" She suddenly mumbled out, feeling the urge to be sick. She went to get up and rush to the bathroom before she was sick all over the floor, but Karen made her lie back down again.  
"You've got to be still for it…else you'll _hurt_ it."  
"I don't want it to come out."  
"Well…_tough_. Because it's _going_ to." Chris told her icily.  
Jess let out a piercing scream, and felt contraction after contraction go further downward; she lay back, feeling a sudden release. To her, it was a strange feeling.  
"You _did_ it." Karen assured her.  
The exhaustion caused her vision to haze over, but she could quite easily make out Chris, who had kept himself quite close to the other end of the bed and had wrapped the small mass in a towel.  
"And it's a beautiful baby girl." She smiled lightly.  
He cradled her in his arms, as he wiped the remaining blood off her. "She's beautiful."  
Jess felt warm all over as he said that. Maybe he _did_ care enough about her to have feelings for her. "Can I _hold_ her?"  
Chris gazed at her, shocked. He thought she didn't want to _have_ a baby! Realising that mother and baby _did_ need to bond, he reluctantly let her have her.  
"Let's leave her on her own for a bit." Karen put to him quietly. "Give them a few minutes to bond."

They both sat down in her lounge, positioning themselves not that far from each other, but still wanting to keep their distance.  
"It'll take some time for them to bond properly." Chris assured Karen, noticing how worried she seemed to be. "It's not going to happen _overnight_."  
"Thank you _so_ much for helping out with that, Chris." She gazed at him, relieved. "I thought it was going to get a bit hairy on a few occasions."  
"Luckily I was here then." He suggested, boldly.  
Karen watched him get up, as if to think about making a move to go.  
"I guess if I'm not needed here now…"  
"No, wait." There was an urgency in her voice, which caused him to stop dead in his tracks.  
"Why? What's wrong?" Chris gazed at her dimly. "Karen, Jess has _had_ her baby. There's no further need for me to be here now. And it's getting late."  
"Jess may need some help."  
"With _what_?"  
Karen would've answered him if Jess hadn't been calling her from upstairs. "Can you wait there for me?"  
Not really understanding _why_, he did as he was told, as he fished his car keys out. Why did all this suddenly feel like a massive waste of his time?  
Footsteps came back down the stairs, and she poked her head round the door. "She wants to see you."  
Chris resignedly let himself be taken back to where Jess's room was, noticing her cradling the small blanketed mass in her arms.  
Karen left them on their own, as he positioned himself on the low windowsill not far from her bed.  
He felt _so _awkward as she gazed over at him, and he was sure she was aware of him squirming a few times because of her gaze on him. "So I guess you're pretty much ok now?"  
Jess nodded slowly.  
"You know, I _was_ worried about you."  
She tilted her head attentively. "Really…? Y-you mean…"  
"You _know_ what I mean, Jess. It was just a general concern. And you were worrying your _mum_ as well. What would've happened if I hadn't have come?"  
"I know and I'm sorry for the way I acted."  
Chris folded his arms across his chest. "So what's going to happen now?"  
"You mean now that I've had my baby?"  
He nodded blankly.  
Jess flitted her gaze. "I-I don't know…this has all happened so quickly. I've got somewhere else in mind that I could go."  
"So you _are_ moving out, or _deciding_ to?"  
She gazed up at him steadily. "I've got someone else who can _help_ me, if that's what you're so worried about."

"I feel sorry for them."  
"He also happens to be my _boyfriend_." She put to him swiftly.  
"And where did you get _that_ one from?"  
"From a club."

Chris almost thought she'd learnt from that. Obviously not. "How irresponsible."  
"Well, I could also say the same about the way _you_ picked _me_ up, Chr – "  
"That's _Mr Mead_ or _Sir_ to you." He shot back.  
Jess sharply tore her gaze away from him. "I thought you still had feelings for me."  
"Too bad…because I don't." He went to leave, when her voice stopped him.  
"So what would you have done if the baby happened to be _yours_?"  
He looked at her blankly. "I wouldn't have let you mistreat it the way you almost did."  
She shrugged. "I don't know what you're on about."  
"You were going to _abort_ it." Chris's voice came out icy yet protective; he may have been technically minded because of his _job_, but that didn't make him _unemotional_ about things like that. "Do you think your _mum_ would've approved of that?"  
"Does it matter what she thought? You're not my doctor."  
"I _do_ care about things like this." He protested. "Pity certain _other_ people don't."  
"Well, I'll bear that in mind next time I'm pregnant," Jess shot back aggressively. "_Sir_." 


	41. Chapter 41

The next day at work, Chris was unexpectedly approached by Karen; his eyes darted this way and that as she stopped him in his tracks by placing a hand on his arm.  
"This has got to stop." She noted steadily.

"I don't know what you mean. So unless you _unhand_ me, I'm not going to listen to it."  
"Don't flatter yourself, Chris." She spoke icily, prompting him to lower an eyebrow at her.  
He was taken aback at her _rudeness_ with him. Surely she should be showering him with credit for helping Jess with her baby.  
Karen slowly let go of Chris, knowing full well that she shouldn't have been so oppressive towards him. Obviously it was a crime for him to patrol just as _she_ does.  
"What is this all about? Have I done something wrong?"  
She backed off, shaking a little. "N-no. I'm sorry."  
A quizzical look formed on his face as she hastily disappeared down the corridor. Something had gotten to her and he wanted to know what.

He presently found her in the first aid room, and he slowly shut the door; it wasn't overly dark, just slightly dim and hazy – enough for them to see each other. "You wanna tell me what this is all about?"  
Karen closed her eyes and shook her head. "I didn't mean to have such a go at you like that."  
"If it's more of a private matter, you should talk to someone else, Karen – not me."

She opened her eyes, peering up at Chris as tears slightly clouded her vision. "Why not?"

"Because we're not a couple." He leant against the wall, gazing down at her anxiously. "But at the same time I don't wanna leave you like this."  
"B-but you're my _friend_." She put to him shakily. "Friends tell each other everything, as you had said."  
He pulled his gaze away. "Forget I ever said that." He drew in a deep breath, lowering his head a little. "Look where it got both of us."  
Karen sniffled slightly. "Everything that had happened between us – I don't regret any of it."  
Chris's eyes sparkled in the dim light. Did she…still have feelings for him? "Is that what this is all about?"  
She shook her head. "I don't think Jess is coping well with her baby."  
"What makes you say that?"  
She gazed up at him as he came a little closer. Maybe he _was_ still bothered about her. "She keeps taking her round to mine to look after." She noticed his eyebrows had risen slightly and he flitted his gaze to the floor. "I don't think she's had _one_ full day of looking after her herself."  
"See, I warned you that would happen." He looked over at her cautiously.  
"What should I do about it?"  
Chris smirked a little. "I don't know why you're asking _me_ for, Karen…I'm not a counsellor. But if it's too hard for you to talk to her…or _reason_ with her, then you should get someone to come round and look after her."  
Karen had lowered her hopes after he'd said that. She was obviously hoping _he_ would've offered to help out, as they were both _friends_. "Why can't you?"  
"M-_Me_?" His gaze became incredulous. "_I'm_ no good at things like that."  
"You might not have to do much, though, Chris…maybe only feed her or bath her."  
He peered down at the floor. "I've never _looked after_ a baby before."

Karen smiled softly. "Well, now's your chance to."  
Chris's gaze went from cautious to reluctant. "Ok…I'll come over."  
Inside, she was jumping up and down with joy. "You think you can make it tonight? If it's too short notice…"  
He nodded dimly. "But I'm not staying for too long, ok?"

Karen was excited that night.  
She waited anxiously for Chris to arrive; hopefully, the two of them would be able to be more comfortable with each other again after their spat.  
When he got there, she was already cradling the newborn in her arms.  
"She's been like this all day." She told him as he anxiously watched her from where he was and came further into the lounge. "I can't get her to settle."  
"You want me to take her?" He didn't sound too sure, but she carefully placed her in his arms.  
Karen was stunned at the sight of hearing her cries lessen and stop. Maybe Chris did something _special_. She remained flabbergasted as he gazed down at her when she fell asleep and put her back into the crib. "That…was _incredible_."  
"What was?"  
"What you just did." She gestured toward the sleeping newborn, as she shifted a little in amongst the blankets before settling back down again. "I don't know what you've got, Chris, but whatever it is, it's _worked_."

"I _honestly_ didn't do anything." He insisted. "She just fell asleep on her own."  
She watched him sit down quite close to her, and she kept her admiring gaze on him.  
Chris felt Karen's gaze on him and it worrying him to the point of paranoia; he sharply turned round, knowing that he shouldn't make so much noise so as to wake the baby who was still sleeping. "What?"  
"Sorry." She shifted her gaze away from him, making him feel a _little_ more relaxed, but not completely.  
"You know, if this is a bad idea…" He went to get up, when she placed a hand on his wrist as if to ground him.  
"Please don't go, Chris."  
Chris closed his eyes. "I don't understand what you want me here for…"  
"Because she needs looking after." Karen almost snapped back, before becoming aware of the baby stirring from the disturbance. "And I know you're good at that."  
"Don't start that all over again." He swiftly got up, moving a little further away from her. "We _both_ know why you wanted me here – you wanted to _sleep with_ me."  
She had to admit, that idea hadn't escaped her. "So what if I did? I _still_ wanted you to help look after her."  
He went to open his mouth to protest, when she said something else.  
"You're _good_ at looking after people, Chris." Karen noted slowly. "And I don't mean in the sexual sense…"  
"Karen, that's not my job." Chris started faintly. "Why she went off to sleep like that, I don't know. I don't have an answer for you. But it wasn't on account of _me_." He got himself ready to leave, already coming to the decision that him being there was making things worse than better.  
She placed a hand on his arm, feeling the slight yet firm muscle under the sleeve of his jacket. God did that feel good. It was a sensation she'd missed. "I don't want you to go."  
He gazed at her, quizzically. "We're _over_." Something at the corner of his mind told him otherwise. "And it can't happen."  
Karen said nothing, but pulled Chris further against her. Their bodies came close to touching, drawing them to the point of no return.  
His eyes dimmed in confusion, not knowing what she was going to do.  
"I need you…" She stated insistently, looking straight into his eyes; they awakened the brighter, more vibrant blues in them from what she'd said to him. "Please…don't leave."  
He swallowed hard and gazed at her carefully, as if going over her very few, yet powerful, words. She _needed_ him – emotionally and physically. It wasn't something he wanted to hear, but at the same time, it _was_.  
Karen felt Chris slowly wrap an arm around her waist, and then proceed to trace the length of her spine with his index finger. She closed her eyes, succumbing herself to his touch as he kept it going.  
What they were both doing was _wrong_, but she couldn't _admit_ it; She felt his touch diffuse the achy, tense feelings in her muscles and it sent her drifting into a release.  
"I don't want to be alone tonight." She admitted hazily, feeling so tired from how good the stroking was. She gazed up at Chris, noticing his eyes had taken on a lighter, sadder hue. "If _you_ don't want to be either, I can happily let you _stay_."  
"I should get back." He noted dimly. What had worried him the most was if one of her kids – more specifically Jess – had come in and see them both _at it_…on the floor…_naked_.  
Something made him change his mind; he gasped softly as Karen stroked along the underside of his jaw with an index finger, drawing him further up against her. He softly closed his eyes, as their lips pressed to each other.  
That had taken her by surprise; she placed her hands on Chris's back, pushing him flush against her. He whimpered at the action, as their hips slid up against each other.  
"Well…" Karen admitted breathlessly, as they withdrew their tongues from each other's mouths. "I'll take that as a _yes_."


	42. Chapter 42

Karen awoke, feeling the slightly frosty morning air drift around her; she sharply opened her eyes, finding herself lying on her side on the lounge floor. She frowned. How the hell did she end up _there_?  
The answer to her question happened to be within touching distance of her; she peered behind her, feeling something pressing itself against her back.  
Chris was still asleep with his arms wrapped around her waist, drawing her up as close to his body as much as he could. His slender legs had wrapped themselves around hers, almost in a protective gesture.  
Karen slowly removed herself from his defensive embrace, worried when he stirred against her; her worry grew even more when his eyes swiftly opened, their gaze immediately on her.  
"What time is it?" He sat up, feeling his back hurt from lying down on the floor all night; he was _not_ used to sleeping on anything hard.  
"Quarter past seven." She noted dimly, focussing on nothing more but what the two of them _did_ the previous night. Anxious thoughts flooded through her mind; did they physically…_do it_ together? Even though the sexual connection they both shared was strong, they weren't a couple.  
"I can't remember much about what happened last night." Chris certainly didn't help the anxious feelings she had when he made that remark. "Can you?"  
"Nothing's coming to mind."  
He gazed over at her as she distractedly swept her hands over her forehead, sweeping her unkempt bangs away from her eyes. She only ever did that when she was upset or anxious. He frowned at how upset she'd become. "Karen, is everything ok?"  
Karen slowly shook her head. "Not really."  
"Why not? What's wrong?" Chris sat closer to her, drawing her into a reassuring embrace.  
She closed her eyes, taking slight pleasure in his touch; and of course him being completely stark naked had nothing to do with it. She felt his warm body pressed into her back, and she almost melted inside at the feel of him against her.  
"You know I care about you." He noted softly.  
She nodded dimly.  
"Do you trust me enough for you to tell me?"  
Karen swallowed hard. "I-it's not about whether I trust _you_, Chris…" She felt the tears standing in her eyes and the urge to hold them back hadn't escaped her. "It's whether I can trust _myself_ with you."  
Chris pulled himself away from her and got her to look straight at him. "I don't know what you mean."  
When she'd opened her eyes, she'd given up holding the tears back and let them fall from the corners of them to her cheeks. "I feel like I've _used_ you."  
"But you didn't." He put to her slowly. "What we did last night didn't stem from the fact that you _used_ me."  
"I-it didn't?"  
"No." The sunlight gradually found its way into the lounge through the windows and glistened into his bright blue eyes temptingly. "You were tense…and having to do all of that on your _own_…"  
Karen peered down at the floor, prompting him to force her to look into her eyes again.  
"You did _not_ take advantage of me, Karen. You wanted me to help, and there I was."  
He smirked softly at remembering what he'd done with the newborn. He still wasn't sure what he did himself. "To be honest, I still don't know what it was I did."  
She was certain Chris had some flair for that sort of thing. "I miss you."  
"I know you do." He pulled her closer to towards him. "Don't think I'm not aware of things like that."

She felt his index finger brush itself against her cheek, wiping the remaining tears away. "I-if you _knew_, why didn't you say?"

He smiled softly. "I needed to hear it from _you_."  
Karen felt her breath get taken away as he softly pressed his lips to hers; they gently withdrew as he gazed into her eyes affectionately.  
"I can tell that you're more defenceless than you like to make yourself out to be, Karen." Chris noted. "I know you _need_ me."  
She nodded dimly. "I do…I _do_ need you."  
"So _have_ me."

Their mouths came together, their tongues brushing against each other playfully. Thinking a little more clearly, Karen took hold of the young male around his waist, pulling him down on top of her; their bodies moved together in perfect sync as she placed a hand on his lower back, pushing him down as far as she could.  
"Y-you don't know how long I've waited for this."  
He wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing their bodies together. "We've _both_ waited for a very long time."

Both of them came into work together.  
They both got into the office, where Chris wrapped his arms around Karen's waist.  
"I've missed you." She admitted hazily, feeling herself drift off as he pressed his lips to the top of her head.  
"I've missed _you_, too." He pulled away from her so he could gaze into her eyes; the sunlight shone into his, and it was beginning to frustrate her. Why did he have to _tempt _her all the time? "So you feel like doing anything tonight, my lady?"  
Karen smiled to herself at how perky he suddenly sounded. "I don't really know. We've pretty much invaded every restaurant in Rochdale…"

"Who said anything about eating out?" He quipped cheekily. He then came over a little coy. "Well…I guess it couldn't hurt to do so…although that wasn't what I had in mind." And when he thought more _about_ it, it couldn't hurt to even mention what he had in mind a little further up the line. At least it'd be a better _setting_ than the pair of them lying together in bed, both doing _incredible_ things to each other. That could be part of the plan as well…  
She felt her heart race at what Chris was going to do. Was he going to say those _four words_ she'd been meaning to hear? She was sure she could hear wedding bells in the distance and she had to kick herself for being so stupid.  
"So if you wouldn't mind if I picked you up at…say, six…I'll _show_ you." 


	43. Chapter 43

When they both got back, Chris got Karen to sit down. "Stay where you are." He told her teasingly, as he disappeared.  
She felt tense and shaky all over; this was happening, this was _really happening_ to her!  
She then snapped to. What if he _wasn't _doing anything of the sort and he was only going to give her something completely different? With that thought in mind, she slowed herself down before he came back.  
Chris positioned himself next to her; he was holding a very small box, which only deepened her anticipation.  
_No_! She switched that thought off in her head. It was something _innocuous_; it couldn't be anything like _that_. And even if it _were_ an engagement ring, he would've had to bend down in front of her, which he _didn't. _Although from what she'd heard, people do propose in the strangest of ways.  
What met her eyes was just beyond words.  
There came a blitz of white and silver sparkles that rained from every direction, coming from the small box.  
"I knew it was your birthday, so I made sure I had enough money to get it in plenty of time beforehand." He explained softly, as she came closer to survey it better.  
Karen was stunned to see a ring in the box; she didn't want to jump to conclusions. _He probably got it with my birthday stone_, she thought to herself.  
Chris gently slid her engagement ring off her finger. "You won't need to wear that again."  
She then watched him slide the other ring onto it. "C-Chris, I…" She admired the way it glistened in the soft light, gazing at him, bemused.

"Perfect." He smiled softly. "I'm pleased I got the right size, I had to _guess_."  
"I-is this…_white gold_?"  
He nodded steadily. "24 carat."  
"Don't tell me that's a _diamond_." To Karen, it was the size of a _pebble_.  
"All 2 carats of it."  
She swallowed hard. "Y-you didn't have to go to all _that_ trouble…"  
"I didn't mind." Chris sat closer to her. "It _is_ your birthday after all."  
She was relieved, in part, that he _didn't_ propose. What would the size of the _engagement ring_ have been? A medium sized _rock_? "Th-thank you."  
"Now if you'd like to come with me…" He got up, grabbing her by her wrists and pulling her up with him. "I think it's time to take things to the _next level_."

Both of them lay together in bed, intertwining each other.  
Karen softly kissed the top of Chris's head, prompting him to stir and settle more comfortably on top of her.  
They'd joined hands through their lovemaking and their afterglow, their fingers linking together.  
"I should go soon."  
"Already?" He sounded crestfallen. "You want me to run you back?" He didn't like the thought of her walking back to her place in the dark.

"Not if all of that's taken it out of you." Karen smirked. "Hope you're not getting tired."  
"As _if_." Chris sat himself up, as she admired his slender figure. He followed her gaze, knowing where she was looking. "Yeah, I know none of that food's _gone_ anywhere on me."  
"How can someone so _slim_ eat so much?" She wondered out loud.  
"Oh, I don't know…I'm just _lucky_, I guess." He quipped, as he got his shirt back on.  
"I'd be _careful_ if _I_ were you, one day you won't _be_ so lucky." Her smirk got wider.  
He inched over to her, his lips dangerously close to hers. "And _I _would be as careful if _I_ were you, as _I'm_ the one giving you a lift back."  
Karen knew that he was tempting her all the more when he did things like that; she could take in his sweet yet musky scent, wanting him to draw himself up closer against her and make love to her over and over again.  
"Well…nice enough as it is, I'd better get you back before it gets too late." He gave a cheeky wink.

Chris watched Karen carefully get out of the car, even though it was near enough pitch black; the streetlamps were on, but because it was so cold, there was a risk of overnight frost. "For how much longer is Jess staying till she moves out?"  
She shrugged. "If she's got the motivation and if I had my way, she'd be out of the door tomorrow."  
He smirked at her remark. "Come on, be serious."  
She had to think. "I don't know…hopefully by the end of the week."  
His eyes flitted up to her worriedly. "A-and you're sure you'll be ok now?"  
Karen smiled softly. "I'll be fine now."

She got into the house; it was quiet – all _too_ quiet.

Some time later, the front door was heard to open, and she was surprised to see Jess stumble in – with _Bex_ in tow.  
"Oh."  
She shot her a stern look. "I suppose I could say the same to _you_."  
The redhead frowned. "What do you mean?"  
"I never thought I'd see something like this." Karen got up, her hands placing themselves on her hips. "And bringing your older _sister_ into it as well…"  
Jess may have been tipsy, but she was sober enough to stop Bex from falling flat on her face on the floor.  
"I expected better from you, Jess."

"I don't have to listen to this." She went to get them both upstairs, when Karen's voice came out.  
"So where did you go then?"  
She scowled at her. "Does it _matter_?"  
She noticed Bex didn't seem fully…_with it_. She seemed, well…_upset_. Maybe it was because she wasn't a hardcore drinker-slash-clubber.  
Both of them went upstairs, leaving her on her own.

The next morning.  
Karen was surprised to see Bex on her own downstairs early; she peered round, not seeing Jess.  
Well she didn't care where she was, as long as she didn't appear any time soon.  
She sat next to her, noticing a dazed expression on her face. "Is everything ok, love?"  
No answer.  
"I know you're not the sort to go out clubbing, Bex, so I'm not blaming you for anything. So don't worry about that." Karen leant further forward across the table. "I just want to know what happened to you last night and where Jess took you."  
Bex dimly shook her head. "I can't tell you, mum…I'm sorry."  
She took hold of her wrist. "If she or anyone has hurt you or done something to you, please tell me…or whenever you feel like saying so."  
She sharply got up. "Nothing happened. I-I'd better go."


	44. Chapter 44

They moved together, sweat gathering in beads and slowly coursing down their bodies.  
"Naughty…" Karen dug her fingernails into Chris's shoulders, letting them sink into the soft yet fair, dewy flesh. "S-so naughty…"  
He held her closer to him, his arms wrapping around her waist and sliding an index finger up and down the length of her spine.  
What they were doing was so, _so_ naughty…but it felt too good to _stop_.  
"T-together…" She felt his other hand press into her lower back, driving her up against him as much as he could. "C-Chris…let's go together…"  
They closed their eyes, instinctively managing to find each other's mouths and allowing their lips to crash together. A mixture of hot flashes and shocks went to both of them just before they released together, as one.  
Karen relaxed against Chris, as they both recovered after their excitement and took in their breathtaking afterglows. She closed her eyes, giving in to the warm feelings as he kept sliding his index finger up and down the length of her spine. "Why do you have to do this?"  
"Do what?"  
She shifted about a little in his embrace. "Why do you have to tempt me the way you do?"  
He smiled softly. "I don't really have an answer for that."  
Karen inched herself away from Chris, and flitted her gaze away from him sadly.

"What's wrong?"  
She expected him to twig the anxious feelings she just couldn't shake off, and in a way, she _wanted_ to talk to him as she _trusted_ him. But what if it was something he couldn't help with? She didn't want to think that. As far as she was concerned, he was able to help with anything and everything. "It's nothing I should bother you about."  
He pulled her a little closer to him. "You sure?" She answered his question for him when a tear glistened in her eye.  
Karen shakily started to dress herself. "I don't think it's something you'd be able to help me with, Chris."  
Chris did the same, frowning when he noticed she had to stop and wipe that same tear that had managed to escape. "If you tell me _anyway_, it might lift the burden you're feeling. Because I can tell when you're stressed out."  
She drew in a deep breath.  
"Karen, I know we're little more than _lovers_, but that doesn't mean to say I don't _care_ about you. Because I do." He wrapped an arm around her.  
She took a while to work out what to say. She could well have been worrying over nothing in particular, but Bex's behaviour _worried_ her somewhat. And she was usually a sunny person in the mornings, like someone else she could care to mention.  
"If you don't wanna talk now, we can always go out later."  
"I should really say…before it starts to get too much." Karen felt more relaxed when she felt Chris start to rub her down her back. His comment about them being little more than simply…well, two people _sleeping together_ bothered her. It made her start to question his real feelings for her, but she knew the way he felt about her and he wouldn't lie about it.  
"Take it slow." He assured her.  
She swallowed hard, as he gazed at her steadily. He wasn't being oppressive at all, but he was definitely _worried_ about her. "I think Bex has been hurt."  
He said nothing, but let her talk some more. He needed more clarification if he was going to help her.  
"Sh-she and Jess went out drinking last night together."  
"But that's nothing unusual." Chris noted. "I mean not for Jess anyway."

"That's the thing though, Chris – Bex isn't cut out for that sort of thing." The tension was already getting to Karen all the more at the worry.  
"What makes you think something happened to her?"  
She shook her head. "I just know Bex. She was already up this morning, and she seemed so…I don't know. Not herself." She actually felt better talking about it. "I went to talk to her about it, but she didn't have any of it when I _tried_ to."  
He flitted his gaze to the floor; it was a _hard_ situation, he had to admit – but it was probably one that was easy to resolve over time. "I don't really know what to suggest, but the best thing you _could_ possibly do is to not force her to talk about it. If anything bad _did_ happen, dare I _say_ so, she's probably traumatised and it'll take some time before she can fully talk to anyone about it – especially you."  
"But I want to know _now_."  
"I know, and I can understand why. But if you end up doing that, she might entirely clam up and not wanna talk to you at all." He shifted his gaze back to her steadily. "Just give her some time, ok? She'll talk when she's ready."

Later that night.  
Karen came across Bex in her room; she was curled up on her bed, not looking anywhere in particular. "Everything ok, love?"  
She said nothing, but gazed up at her as she came in and sat on the bed quite close to her, but not overly so.  
"You didn't come down for tea earlier…were you not hungry?"  
"Not really."

She frowned and swept a hand over her forehead, prompting her to flinch slightly. She wasn't even _feverish_, but she usually spoke up if she wasn't feeling well. "I'm here if you ever want to talk to anyone, Bex. You know that don't you?"  
She nodded sadly. "I can't tell you about this, mum."  
"Was it what happened the other night?"  
Bex said nothing, but went to turn with her back to Karen; she felt a hand on her shoulder stop her from doing so.  
"I'm not _making_ you say anything you don't want to, love. But when you feel ready to tell me, I will not think any less of you – no matter what happened."

"I-I was _assaulted_." She finally admitted.  
Karen took her hand away slowly. "D-did they _touch_ you?" When she nodded, she swallowed hard, preparing herself to ask the most difficult question a mother could _ever_ ask her own daughter. "W-was there anything _else_ involved?"  
"I don't know, I was too tipsy to remember." Bex knew there was no point in lying about it, even though she had nothing to lose by doing so.  
"You should get yourself tested, you know." She noted slowly. "Just in case anything did happen."

She shook her head. "I don't want you worrying about me, mum…"  
"Or do you want someone to go with you?"  
She gazed at her dimly. "I don't want any hassle."

"This is _not_ hassle, Bex. This is as a protective measure." She placed her hands around her wrists. "Please…do this for me. Because you're worrying a lot of people right now." 


	45. Chapter 45

Karen heard the office door open; Chris swiftly came in, an expression of worry crossing his features. "You look like a worried little puppy." She smiled softly, unable to resist how adorable he looked when he was worried or confused. It was _her_ turn to get worried when his expression didn't change as he came closer to her. "Ok, now you're worrying _me_."  
"Is Bex supposed to be in today?" He asked her slowly.  
She nodded. "She's _meant_ to be. Why do you ask?"  
"Well she wasn't in my set earlier on." He flitted his gaze away from her. "I know that it isn't like her to not show up."

Karen frowned. "That doesn't sound like her at all."  
"I don't wanna put her down as being _absent_, Karen. But I'm going to have to if you don't know where she is and she should be here."  
She swallowed hard. "She could've gone to an STI clinic."  
Chris lowered an eyebrow. "What's happened to her?"  
She gazed at him shakily.

"I know it's nothing to do with me, but my _main_ worry is with _you_." He clarified, coming over to her. "I worry at what this all might do to you."

She closed her eyes, feeling a hand place itself on her shoulder; she appreciatively placed a hand on top, squeezing at the wrist. "I'm glad _someone's_ here for me."

"You know I would do that for you."  
Karen drew in a deep breath. "Bex told me this morning that some guy she was with the other night assaulted her." She peered up at Chris, noticing his eyes had taken on a glassy yet dim look.  
"How far did it go?" He asked steadily, wanting her to go at her own speed. "If you don't know or you don't wanna tell me, then that's fine."  
"She was too drunk to remember much about it, Chris."  
He nodded slowly.  
She felt awful. Why did she suddenly feel so _tired_?  
"The positive thing coming out of this is that she's possibly gone for help. Some people can carry this sort of thing for weeks – maybe even _months_ – before they start considering reporting it or getting some form of help."

Karen wiped a stray tear away. "I don't want her to get counselling." She put to him dimly. "How bad would that make me look?"  
"But it's not something _you've_ done." Chris reassured her. "It's something she couldn't _stop_, and that's not yours or her fault. It's whoever _did_ that to her that should be held responsible for it."  
"She could be given drugs, Chris…_anything_. She could be put in some mental home."

"Ok, now you're overreacting." He squeezed her shoulder, as if to ground her. "For now, I think you should go home and get some sleep."

"No." Karen wept out. "I'm here to _work_, and that's what I should be here for."  
"You've barely managed to _cope_ though." He gazed at her placidly. "And trauma like this is enough to drain _anyone_, not just yourself, but possibly her as well."  
She felt every muscle in her body feel heavy and weighed down, as Chris positioned himself in front of her, grabbed her by her wrists and pulled her up out of her chair. "I don't want to go home sick."

"Don't let me make you." He smirked slightly. "I may not be a doctor, but I know enough to know you should get some sleep."  
Karen nodded slowly. "I guess…I should."

"You want me to come by later?" He offered.  
"If you _want_."  
"Well I mean it's for _your_ benefit. If you'd rather I didn't show up and you wanted more sleep, I'd understand. But I would hate for you to be on your own."  
She gazed up at him slowly, noticing his eyes had retained their placidity.  
"If you need me, you know where I'll be…ok?"

Bex sat by herself in the large waiting room; it wasn't packed, but there were a few other people pretty much waiting to be seen for the same thing as her.  
A nurse called her in and she heavily positioned herself in the chair in front of the desk. "So about the test results…"  
She didn't want to look straight at her, for fear of what her expression might've been.  
"I'm so sorry to tell you this, Bex…"

Later on, Karen heard someone at the front door, and she answered it.  
Chris was on her doorstep. "I know you didn't ask for me to come over, but I wanted to make sure you were ok."  
She nodded, letting him in and taking him through to her lounge. "You're more than welcome to be here, Chris…don't worry about that."  
"Have you heard from…?"  
She shook her head. "She hasn't even come back yet."  
"Give her time." He inched closer to her and took her into a reassuring embrace. "It's not the easiest thing in the world to come to terms with, but when she _does_ come back, let her talk in her own time. She might not even wanna tell you what they've found."  
"Thanks for being here." Karen said dimly, as the young male pressed his body against hers; whenever he did that, it made her feel warm inside.  
"That's ok." Chris felt good enough just to hold her there. He felt her relax into the embrace a little more, which was what he wanted. "Have you gotten any sleep?"

She shook her head. "Not when I'm waiting for Bex to come back."  
"Don't worry about waiting for her to come back." He put to her steadily. "She'll come back when she's ready."  
"What if she _doesn't_?"  
"Come on, enough worrying." He got her up and she resignedly went to bed, with him following her.  
Karen gazed up at Chris, as he perched himself on the side of the bed; he softly swept a stray bang to where it should be.  
"Now you're perfect again."  
She smiled a little from his affectionate gesture; it made her relaxed when he did things like that and her eyes started to feel heavy.

"You want me to get you something?"  
She sat up from where she was lying, prompting him to place his hands on her to get her lying back down in bed.  
"Close your eyes and get some sleep."  
"Can I come back to yours?"  
Chris was silent for a few seconds. "You don't have to _ask_ me. If you feel better being with me, that's fine."  
Karen nodded slowly. "I know that the kids will come back, but I think I'd be better with someone like _you_."  
"That's fine…get yourself sorted and get some stuff together." He released his grip on her and rubbed her up and down her back. "You'll probably loosen up quicker if you're not on your own."


	46. Chapter 46

_A/N – thanks for all reviews! Don't know for how much longer I can keep this going but I'm doing well so far…_

Karen found herself drifting in and out of exhaustion once Chris had started to take her back to his.  
She felt like she'd only closed her eyes for a few seconds, when she felt something nudge her gently.  
"Wakey, wakey." A pair of bright blue eyes sparkled in the dim light and into her darker ones.  
"Are we there already?"  
"'Fraid so." He said chirpily, secretly excited at having Karen staying at his for at least one night. He'd hoped it was for a little longer than that, but he was quite happy for her to stay for as long as she wanted.  
She felt unable to move as the exhaustion had set itself into her muscles, weighing down each of her pores.

Karen hadn't realised she fell asleep; she drifted back into consciousness, finding herself lying down in bed, with the blankets loosely covering her up to her waist.  
Her eyes immediately went to automatically adjust to the anticipated bright light ready to blind her, but she found that the room was flooded in a very soft, dim glow.  
"Now that's what I call a _sleep_." Chris wasn't far away from her, and had positioned himself at the end of the bed.  
"How long have I been asleep for?" Karen mumbled out tiredly.  
"About an hour or so." He disappeared, coming back with some water. "Try and drink some of this."  
She tried to sit up, feeling her muscles give up on her as she did so.  
He immediately went to her end, helping her to sit up more comfortably. "The exhaustion's probably making you feel like this. This'll help it to stop."  
She allowed Chris to tilt her head back a little and he carefully started to tip the cool, clear fluids down into her throat.  
"Better get used to having someone wait on you like this." He noted perkily, happy that she'd taken all of the water.  
Karen gazed thankfully at him as he withdrew the glass from her once she'd emptied it.  
"How do you feel now?"  
"A bit better." She felt her pulse race as he carefully swept a hand over her forehead. She was sure she felt a small flush start at her cheeks.  
"How about your stomach?" Chris felt that he was starting to get a little hungry. "You up for eating anything?"

"Like what?"  
"I can always get us a takeout." He suggested. "At least then it'd be quicker for you to get your energy back."  
"Chris, I…" Karen weakly settled back down in bed. "I don't want you to go to all that for me."  
"Karen, it's _not_ a problem." He got his jacket on, ready to head off. "Stay there and rest."

"Wow." Chris took Karen's empty plate off her. "Not only were you _tired_, you were _hungry_ as well…I'm impressed."  
She sat up, feeling a little better after eating something.  
"You know, one day I think you're going to beat me at my own game." He smirked as he went to get up.

"What do you mean?"  
"Polishing it off the way you do." He disappeared as he went to dispose of the empty plates and came back, keenly placing himself next to her on the bed and allowing her to wrap an arm around his waist, pulling him up against her and planting a kiss on his cheek.  
"You're so sweet."  
Chris smiled coyly. "Well, I try to look after you."

"You try _very_ hard." Karen started to take off her clothes, as if to suggest to him to do the same. She was surprised when he followed suit.

He slipped into bed next to her, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her close to his body after switching the lights out.  
They stayed still and quiet for some time – both quite happy to keep each other warm and feeling quite relaxed that they were both together.  
"I do _care_ about you, Karen." He put to her softly, feeling her wrap her legs around his.  
"I know you do." She was close to drifting off against him, nestling her head into his broad chest and hearing his heart beat quite fast. She hoped he wasn't getting _excited_!  
"All I want is to keep you safe…" Chris also felt like falling asleep from the warm, pleasurable feelings coursing through him. "Don't feel like you have to go back tomorrow. You can stay for as long as you want."  
Karen thankfully wrapped an arm around his slender waist, running her index finger up and down the side of it softly. She couldn't _help_ but touch him, he felt so dewy and soft.  
The stroking had made him all the more relaxed; he closed his eyes and slowed his breathing down as he fell asleep.  
She drew herself up against him, watching him sleep in the dim light; she found it a beautiful sight, as his eyelids had softly closed and his body had gone completely still. She noticed a few of his bangs had fallen askew, and she carefully brushed them back into position, causing him to stir but not wake up.  
_He's perfect_…she thought to herself, watching his chest slowly rise and fall with each breath he took. _Absolutely perfect_.

The next morning.  
Karen opened her eyes, no longer sensing an equally warm body against hers; she felt the sunlight hit her eyes and she had to let them adjust to the bright light that had flooded the room.  
"Nice sleep?" A familiarly chirpy voice came from the side of her.  
She turned round, seeing Chris standing by the window; he was already dressed, with his legs slightly apart. It was a pose that frustrated her to no end, as it accentuated his slender hips. "What time did _you_ get up?"

"Around ten minutes ago."  
Karen couldn't help but admire his slender, yet well-proportioned figure. "I hope you're not going to work like that." She smirked cheekily.  
"Why do you say that?" He sidled up to her.  
"Because you're looking just a little bit _tempting_ right now." She pulled Chris down onto the bed on top of her, their lips crashing together and causing him to elicit an excited whimper. "You're lucky I'm not going to be in today as I wouldn't keep my hands off you all day."  
"Well, if you're feeling better, I can always help you with those urges of yours…" He put to her suggestively, teasingly moving his hands to his tie as if to loosen it and take it off. "Or I could just wait till _later_."  
She was close to throwing a pillow at him for being so cheeky and making her wait even longer. "You know that's not fair – teasing me like that."  
"You know you _like_ it." Chris gave Karen a shyer kiss on her lips, as if to tempt her even further with what he was likely to do to her when he got back. He smirked and winked at her. "Don't do anything _I_ wouldn't do."


	47. Chapter 47

Karen couldn't manage to sleep _all day_; the excitement of what Chris was likely to do with her hadn't left her mind once since he'd left that morning.

They were _perfect_ together – sexually, physically and emotionally. After everything she'd been through on her own and through the violent relationship she had with Charlie, he had made everything _better_.  
When she told him of the assault she'd been through, he wasn't at all judgemental or thought any less of her, which she found _strange_. Maybe not so much strange, but it was certainly something she didn't expect anyone to accept.  
Karen didn't even know if he was finishing earlier than usual, but she hoped that he did – she didn't know for how much longer she could keep all the pent-up excitement inside her.

She jolted awake from hearing the front door open and then close; she was surprised she'd managed to sleep at all due to the excitement!  
"Right where I left you." Chris came into the room, his bright blue eyes shimmering from excitement.  
"What time is it?" Karen made to sit up as he closed the door behind him.  
"Just gone two." He was _glad_ he finished earlier than usual; he loosened his tie, removing that completely before moving his hands to the buttons on his shirt.  
He was caught by surprise as she drove him up against the wall, her hands on his hips, both bodies together.  
"You're a naughty boy, Mr Mead…" Karen put to him suggestively, sliding her fingers under the waistband of his trousers.  
"Oh, _am_ I?" Chris's voice came out innocent, but it wasn't washing with her. She knew he only did it to encourage her all the more.  
"I think we're going to have to punish you." She slid one hand under the trousers waistband, coming to a slightly rigid yet _significant_ hardness.  
His body shuddered at the thought of what she was thinking of doing with him, but he found himself unable to suppress the low whimper that dragged itself out from his throat.  
"Oh, you _like_ that…" Karen took a small amount of pleasure from hearing such cute little noises he was eliciting. "You like that _a lot_."  
"Th-this isn't fair…" Chris's eyelids started to feel heavy from the warm feelings coursing their way through him. A pink flush appeared at his cheeks and his chest started to heave slightly.  
"Maybe I should take care of the problem I've caused."

He squirmed against the wall; it was meant to have been _him_ taking the initiative, but he'd allowed her to _dominate_ him…when he least expected her to.  
"Wouldn't you _agree_?"  
He nodded shakily, feeling the warm excitement in between his legs becoming too hard to ignore. "C-can you do that?"

Karen excitedly unbuttoned Chris's shirt, allowing him to dispose of it by dropping it onto the floor; she then slid his trousers from over his small hips and down his slender legs, which just left him with his _boxers_ on. "Now as for these…well…"

Once he was completely relieved of what he was wearing, she made for him to lie down on his back on the bed, as she positioned herself to the side of him.  
"W-what are you going to do?" He jolted a little from excitement, not knowing which part of his body she was planning on assaulting first.  
Karen gave him a seductive smile. "You'll have to find out for yourself, won't you?"

Chris almost cried out when something engulfed him, making him feel the warmth turn into sheer _heat_. He moved his legs further out, as two hands placed themselves on each of his thighs.  
She didn't know _why_ she was doing what she did, but it was causing the young male to buck and jolt under her; she was causing him to squirm in resistance in the most excitable of ways!  
Soon enough, Chris's cries had lessened, his noises becoming excited yet submissive whimpers; his hips moved upward to Karen, gaining more of a rhythm as a heat started to gather at his abdomen and move southerly to his hips.  
She closed her eyes, skimming her thumbs over the crests of his hips, causing him to squirm against the bed and grab handfuls of the blankets under him.  
"K-Karen…" He gasped out, his eyelids close to closing from sheer pleasure. "Don't make me go."  
"And what if I _did_?" Karen dared to ask him, taking pleasure in his frantic struggles to resist.  
"O-oh…you'd be in trouble." Chris could not control it any longer; a deep pink blush formed at his cheeks, as his bucks got shakier.  
She closed her eyes, as he gave one last thrust and stopped his struggling; the flavours that entered her mouth were strange, but by no means _unpleasant. _There was a sweetness about them, as she withdrew from him and surveyed him through his afterglow. It was a beautiful sight.  
He hazily gazed up at her, his bright blue eyes shimmering from leftover excitement.  
"So I'm still in trouble then?" Karen assumed sultrily.  
He shakily nodded. "A-a _lot_ of trouble."  
She skimmed her thumb over the area under his navel, causing him to close his eyes and gasp softly at the hot shocks sliding down his spine. That was a part of him she _loved_ touching as he was so sensitive round there! "Guess you'd better do something about it then, hadn't you?"

"L-like what?"  
Karen gave Chris a seductive look, before moving onto her back, and waiting for him to slide himself on top.

They shakily moved together; Chris was surprised that he had it in him to go a _second_ time, and as he felt her walls close in around him, it was almost like a part of her was embracing him, not wanting to let go.  
Karen moved herself up to him, his hips sliding against hers – as he pushed inwards, she pushed upwards, intensifying the pleasure between them.  
Shakily, they took hold of each other's hands, their fingers intertwining through the lovemaking; they only _ever_ did that if they felt connected enough.  
She gazed up into his bright blue eyes, as they shimmered down into hers. She was going to go. And she was sure that _he_ was going to go as well.  
They released together, both stopping dead, as the pleasure was too intense for them to ride over.  
"C-Chris…" Karen tightened her grip on him, not wanting to let him go till the pleasurable feelings had subsided. "I love you."  
"So do I." Chris shuddered all over as he felt her body tighten and contract around him.  
"I've never felt anything so powerful as that before." She managed to get her breath back.  
"Now you know what it feels like." He told her cheekily, as he withdrew from her. "And we actually came _together_. That's usually quite hard for two people."  
She nodded dimly. "It feels so much better when we do that. It's almost like we're both as one…like we're both in touch with each other's excitement." She was starting to realise how sexually attracted they were to each other.

He smirked slightly. "You're not going all spiritual on me now, are you, Mrs Fisher?"  
She smirked back. "Oh, and you _haven't _done so yourself?"


	48. Chapter 48

The next morning.  
Chris awoke, no longer sensing the equally as warm body that he'd nestled up against; he noticed that the blankets had been pulled away from one side of the bed, and he grew worried. Did Karen…not _like_ what had gone on the night before?

He knew enough to know that yes, she _did_ enjoy it very much, and she even admitted that she had _feelings_ for him. But she couldn't have _gone_.  
His speculation came to an end when he heard the bathroom door unlock and she came back. "Everything ok?" He frowned, as he noticed a slightly pale colour at her features.  
She nodded dimly. "Must be all the stress." She wasn't sure _herself_ what it was, but she certainly didn't feel good. "I know worrying myself sick isn't what I should be doing, but…"  
Chris rolled onto his other side to face her as she got back into bed. "If you don't feel up to working today, then don't."  
"Chris, I appreciate your concern, but I should be fine now."  
"Not if all this worrying is making you sick." He looked over at the time, crestfallen when he realised he _had_ to get up. "I definitely don't want you to resort to spending most of the day in the toilets throwing your guts up."  
Karen smiled at his comment. "It won't happen again…"

"Doesn't _matter_, you're still not well."  
She gazed up at him; he certainly looked worried. She almost felt her breath get taken away as he placed a hand against her forehead.

"You look washed out…more so than _yesterday_." Chris's voice was anxious yet trying to stay calm. He wasn't sure what was wrong. Did she have a _virus_? She looked unwell enough to have one. "And you're a bit warm."

"But…"

"Stay in bed and get some sleep." He told her. "You're not going to be any use to anyone if you're like this."  
Karen drew in a deep breath and covered herself back up in the blankets again. "I'm worried at what this is doing to _you_, Chris."  
"Of _course_ it's affecting me, you're not _well_." He buttoned his shirt up.  
"I mean _at work_. You know – _covering_ for me all the time."  
"Karen, _that_ isn't a problem." Chris sat on the edge of the bed, placing a hand on her shoulder and gazing at her softly. "You _stay_ there till you feel better."  
She felt like scowling at him as he made her lie back down in bed, but the displeasure melted away from her when he stroked her through her bangs, placing them to where they should have been. "I wish you were my doctor…"  
He smiled softly. "Well, I _am_, aren't I?" He pressed his lips to her forehead. "I'm a _special_ one."

"Then come back to bed." Karen insistently gazed up at Chris, moving her hands to his arms and squeezing the firm, taut muscle under the shirt.  
"I have to go to my _other_ job first." He winked. "I'll get back to taking care of _you_ after."

Karen felt her guts twist painfully as she placed herself next to the toilet; even after the first few bouts of vomiting, the excruciating contractions in her stomach showed no signs of stopping.  
She was _sure_ it was some sort of stomach virus.  
She wasn't aware of the flat's front door closing – nor was she aware of the bathroom door slowly opening.  
Her eyelids felt heavy from the exhaustion of the nausea, and she gave a slight flinch when a hand placed itself on her back.  
"Were you sick?" A familiar voice asked her softly, as they began to rub her down her back.  
Karen weakly nodded.  
"You should come back to bed, Karen…I'll get you some water and then you get some more sleep."  
She managed to get her breath back from the pain in her ribs. "What time is it?"  
Chris placed himself in front of her and swept her bangs back from her forehead. "It's gone ten." He raised an eyebrow at how hot she felt. "I couldn't work knowing how ill you were."  
She felt the exhaustion take over her even more. She must've blacked out at some stage before coming to with him finding her in there.  
"You feel like you've got enough energy to stand?"  
Karen felt the muscles in her legs seize up. "I-I think so."  
"Take your time…" He wrapped his arms around her waist, ready to help her to pull herself up.  
She couldn't do it.  
Chris knelt down beside her. "Do it when you feel a little better."  
"I don't know when that'll be though, Chris, I feel so ill…"  
"It'll take some time, it's just the exhaustion." He flicked her bangs back away from her face, as the sweat began to gather at her forehead. He grew all the more worried when her eyelids fluttered, trying to keep herself awake. It was almost as though her body was closing off all connections to the outside world, allowing her to shut down.  
"…Karen?"

Karen wandered back into consciousness some time later, sensing the hot shocks infusing her body to become doused by a cooler sensation; she faintly came round, noticing she was lying down and was surrounded by very dim lights. She gazed up, finding Chris positioned to the side of her and carefully touched a wet cloth against her forehead.  
"Well, at least you got your _wish_." He smiled softly, relieved that she'd woken up. "You gave me a scare back then."  
Karen felt herself relax from the affectionate touch. "I'm _dying_, aren't I?"  
"Don't be silly. It's just the exhaustion making you poorly, that's all."  
"What if it's _more_ than that, Chris?"  
He removed the cloth from her as the flushing around her face had subsided. "It's probably the lack of sleep, nothing more."  
"I should go to the doctor."  
Chris frowned. "You _sure_?"  
She nodded dimly. "I don't usually get viruses, and even if I _were_ exhausted, it wouldn't have made me throw up as much as that."  
He carefully fed her some water. "W-well…I mean it's up to _you_ really. I don't think it's anything you should worry about personally."

Karen placed a hand on his as he withdrew the bottle of water from her mouth. "It's for my own piece of mind."  
"You want me to take you up there?" He offered. He was worried at her falling sick on the way up to the doctor's.  
She smiled softly. "If you're offering…"


	49. Chapter 49

"There's no easy way of _saying_ this, Karen." The doctor put to her carefully, as he went over her symptoms that she'd given to him to write down.  
"So it's life threatening, is it?"  
"Not exactly." He took out a small plastic stick. "Go to the toilet and put this in your stream."  
"Just tell me what it is I _have_." She didn't like not to be told things that clearly worried her.

The doctor gazed at her reassuringly. "All you need to know will be shown on that stick."

Karen shakily leant against the wall of the ladies', not believing what she'd seen. How could she be…the _p_ word? Surely she was old enough not to _have_ that sort of gift anymore!  
And should she tell _Chris_? Well, she was sure he wouldn't exactly approve of a pregnancy outside of marriage – not when she was still legally married to _someone else_ (even though she was divorcing him) and especially since their relationship was still on the down low. Her instincts told her _not_ to tell him, which was wrong, but it would lessen the pain. After all, what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.  
It was all just an _accident_…wasn't it?

"So what did they say?" Chris got up as Karen came out.  
"Just some stomach irritation." She felt _awful_ at telling such a big porkie, but she managed to make it sound slightly _believable _to him. "Too many takeouts, they've put it down to."  
He lowered an eyebrow at her. "Oh, it's on account of _me_ that you're like this?" He was sure he didn't even _give _her that many. But some people, like himself, could take lots and still have a cast-iron stomach. Some, on the other hand, didn't have that threshold. "I guess it'll have to be _water_ for you for now."  
"And the medication they've prescribed for me."  
"What? They've given you stuff to _take_ for it?" Chris couldn't help but feel a little…_suspicious_. For a slightly upset stomach, water usually was enough. But unless it was considered _ongoing_, he didn't see the point of it. "For how much they cost on prescription, you're better off taking water for it."  
"They've said it was necessary for me to take them, Chris." Karen insisted, not wanting to reveal to him the _real_ reason. "I've had recurring upset stomach before. This will lessen it."  
"Well…ok."

Karen stared at the massive tablet she was given to take; she was sure the thing would get stuck in her throat at the size of it.  
"You know, your stomach won't get any better if you don't take it." Chris's chirpy voice came from the doorway, as he leant against it. The light from outside the room had made his eyes glisten in the dimness.  
She nodded dimly. "I guess…"

"Have you _always_ been this anxious about taking tablets?"  
"I-it's not that."  
He frowned, coming into the room and sitting on the edge of the bed. "Then why aren't you taking it?"  
"I don't want to end up sicker than before."

"Karen, _relax_…you will _not_ get sicker from taking these. They're designed to stop this, they won't make it any worse." Chris placed a hand on her shoulder, as she resignedly put it in her mouth and swallowed it down with the water. "See, now as long as you stick to the times you have to take them, you'll start to feel better."  
"If you say so…" Karen begged to differ, suddenly feeling guilty at going along with taking the medication.  
"Of _course_ I do…" He pulled the blankets further over her, up to her waist. "Now close your eyes and get some sleep. It'll give it time to work."  
"Chris?" She gazed up at him, as he went to leave her on her own to sleep; he gazed down at her attentively. "I love you."  
If there was only some _other_ way of letting him know that she didn't mean to hurt him by doing what she was. But he wasn't getting that message. The warning signs to him just _weren't_ there.  
"Not another word." The young male smiled softly. "Go to sleep."

Later on that evening.  
Chris came in to the bedroom, noticing Karen was awake and ready to take the next dosage of tablets. "I'll get you some water."  
Curiosity getting the better of him, he surveyed the medication box, confused as to what the label had said on the front. It became clear to him they were no ordinary antacid tablets.  
"So this is supposed to help your stomach, is it?" His voice shook a little, sounding a little hard done-by. "Never thought it'd come down to something like _this_."  
"Something like what, Chris? I don't understand…" She tried to maintain her innocence with him, knowing that he'd already twigged. It was a surprise no longer.  
"That you were _pregnant_."  
Karen flitted her gaze away, a wave of guilt already crashing over her at the thought of what the initial dosage had done to the seed growing inside of her. She felt she was _less_ than capable of having any further offspring, why take that risk?  
"You do realise taking things like that _kill_ it."  
"I'm well aware of that." She retorted, shocked that Chris could hold such _perceptive_ views about medication, albeit abortion-inducing ones at that.  
"I don't know what's going through your mind, Karen." He placed his hands on his hips, unable to comprehend what the hell she was playing at. "You go and lecture _Jess_ about the pitfalls of aborting a baby, and I _know_ how critical you are of having abortions…so am _I. _But you're killing an otherwise perfect baby."  
"B-but look how _old_ I am, Chris." Karen protested weakly. "It might not even survive till the time it's delivered."  
"Doesn't matter how old you are, it's still _growing_." His expression was one of a mixture of shock and anger. "And because you've already taken _one_ of those, you might've _injured_ it. God only knows what it could've done to it." He knew an abortion-inducing medication would gradually get the baby out of her system within a certain amount of dosages.  
"I'm sorry…" She saw Chris fold his arms across his chest. "But because we're not an official couple and I'm still married to Charlie, it wouldn't have been fair to raise it in such a difficult relationship."  
"So now what we have is _difficult_." He shot back at her. "What's more difficult is the fact that you _misled_ me. You lied to my face about what the doctor had said and you _meant_ to kill it."  
Karen felt tears reach her eyes. "I didn't want to hurt you though. And it wouldn't be fair on _you_."  
He gazed at her blankly. "I would've wanted that baby _alive_. I would've _even_ wanted it to make it through the whole pregnancy."  
She flitted her gaze away guiltily. "So it's probably…_injured_ then?"  
"Even so, if it made it through the pregnancy, it would be even better." He nodded slowly. "I would still love it the same, injured or not…"  
"I'm sorry, I'll stop taking these and I'll care for it up to the time it's due to come through." She insisted.  
Chris pulled himself away a little, his gaze becoming dim. "You've already decided what you wanted. And you don't _want_ it."  
"Chris, I…" Karen tried again. "I was worried about what you might've thought."  
He moved over to the other side of the room, still trying to recover from the entire ordeal.  
"I didn't want you to stop loving me."  
"I _wouldn't_, Karen. You're putting all these stupid thoughts into your head." He wasn't going to forgive her so easily for that. "If this is what you really wanna happen with this baby…then it's obvious you don't want a future with _me_, let alone a _relationship_."  
"No."  
"I won't stop loving you. That'll never happen. But I can't be with someone who thinks the way you do about things like that."


	50. Chapter 50

Karen found it hard to look at Chris, after what they'd said between them.  
Eventually she broke the silence between them. "So what now?"

"You tell _me_." He put to her dimly, keeping his gaze firmly on the floor. Finding out that she was taking abortion-inducing drugs was _not_ an ideal situation for him to be in. And did he still _trust_ her? He honestly wasn't sure.  
"I didn't mean to _hurt_ you, Chris."

"Well you _did_." He finally managed to muster up enough courage to look straight at her that time. "What were you _thinking_, Karen?"  
Karen shook her head. "I don't know…I just thought by having a baby would complicate things."  
"No, _this_ has complicated things even further." Chris sharply got up, moving over to the window and crossing his arms over his chest. "By doing what you've already done."  
"But I've stopped now."  
His eyes glistened a little from tears. "You could've _hurt_ it."  
She drew in a deep breath, feeling guilty from seeing him get upset the way he was. She could understand _why_, he'd been kept in the dark and lied to.  
"That baby is a part of _me_ as well as _you._ I bet that wasn't even on your mind the minute you started to take those."  
"I _do_ want a baby. But at _my_ age…"  
"No, don't start that again. That doesn't wash with me." His gaze remained steady, although the tears were threatening to fall. "Women at your age _still_ manage to deliver a baby through an entire term – it's not very common for someone your age _to_ get pregnant, but the fact still remains that it's very much viable."  
Karen shook her head. "I didn't want to take that risk…"  
"So it wasn't worth taking a risk of letting a baby survive?" Chris failed to see the point she was trying to make. "I don't understand."  
"Chris, I cannot put this to you any clearer. I didn't mean to _hurt_ you."  
"You didn't mean to let me _find out_ either, though, did you?" He shot back. "That didn't stop you from wanting to _lie_ to me."  
She gazed at him worriedly. "How can I make this up to you?"

It took a while for him to think up anything that expressed his feelings; the shock had made him feel stuck in his emotions, almost like he didn't know _what_ to feel. Ending it would seem too drastic, especially if Karen had then promised to take care of the baby. And although he was often seen as a bit _too_ trusting, he felt he couldn't really let her take advantage of that. "If you promise not to take any more of those…then this relationship keeps going."  
Karen nodded steadily.  
"I-I mean what you told me is a _huge_ untruth, Karen…it's not like a small white lie."  
"What do you mean?"  
Chris moved a little away from the window. "What I mean is that it's going to take a while for me to fully _forgive _you."  
"B-but I love you." She protested.  
"I _know_ you do, and I don't doubt that. I love you _too_, but anyone who gets lied to as badly as that would know that the hurt feelings _do_ run quite deep."  
"But the time we spend together…"  
"We can _still_ do that. And in time I _will_ forgive you. But I just feel hurt right now."  
Karen noticed how upset he seemed. "I guess for now…I should let you be by yourself."  
He managed to hold the tears back that time. He knew as well as _anyone_ that the best way to make anyone feel better after being upset would be to have someone else with them. But he felt the _opposite_ right then. "You want me to take you back?"  
She shook her head. "I don't want to make you do that."  
"You _wouldn't_ be making me. I think it's better for both of us if we were alone for once."

Karen nestled quite cosily on the sofa in the lounge as soon as she got in; she was so exhausted and felt a little weak, and she wasn't sure if it was from the medication or from the little spat they had.  
She had the fire going at full blast in front of her. She missed having Chris nestle himself up against her, both bodies pressed together and melting as one…hands drifting over one another and contacting hot spots neither of them knew they _had_.  
She closed her eyes, imagining he was virtually with her at that moment – the things she longed to do with him tormented her at the back of her mind. If he happened to have been there right then he wouldn't have stood a chance.  
Karen allowed the fantasy to play on for a little bit – she would've led him to the spot in front of the fireplace, both stripping themselves before peaking over into mind-blowing pleasure.  
"Mum?" A familiar yet tired voice broke into her train of thought.  
She snapped to, seeing Bex stand in the lounge doorway. "You gave me a fright, love. Is everything ok?"  
"Couldn't sleep." She sat next to her, her mind obviously on something else. "Not after what the doctor had said to me."  
Karen thought it better not to probe her; she thought she'd take Chris's advice on board about not wanting to push her into saying anything if she really _didn't _want to.  
"I don't want to really say what it is they've found, but I need to talk to someone more…I don't know. Someone who is _like_ a doctor but _isn't_."  
She nodded slowly.  
"You look deep in thought." Bex noted suddenly.  
She thought for a few seconds, secretly kicking herself for having such dirty thoughts about the young male; how much younger was he compared to her? But the pair of them were _deeply_ in love with each other. To keep their relationship a secret any longer was pushing her to tell someone. "Bex, I've been seeing someone else."  
"Who?"  
Karen shook her head dimly. "I can't tell you because if I did, I know you would tell. I do trust you, but the discovery of who it is I'm seeing will make you _want_ to."  
"O-ok…"  
"What I'm trying to get at is that he might _help_ you." She told her slowly. "He's _not_ a doctor, and he won't _touch_ you. But he's good at listening to people, especially me."

"I know you better than _anyone_, mum…" Bex placed a hand on hers. "What problems could _you_ possibly be going through right now?"

She swallowed hard, flitting her gaze away in a tense sort of way. "Your dad and I have been arguing a lot lately."

"Mum, you…" Bex was a little shocked. "You-you've been sleeping with this other guy behind dad's back?"  
"Not quite, your dad knew." Karen found it easier to gaze at her again. "But before I started seeing him, your dad _assaulted_ me."  
Her eyes widened at this revelation. "Y-you've been carrying that burden for all that time?"  
"But this other guy made it _better_, love. He didn't do anything _special_, we just…you know, mainly talked." _Amongst other things_, she thought suggestively, as the memory of what Chris did to her made her glow inside. "If you want someone to talk to, he can always listen to whatever it is you want to say."  
"Is he some sort of counsellor?" Bex asked bluntly.

Karen smiled softly. "No! No, don't worry…he's not a shrink. But he's a good listener."


	51. Chapter 51

Chris leant against the front door, trying to take in what Karen had said to him. "Can I just get this straight – you want me to talk to your daughter who could well tell the whole _school_ about us?"  
She nodded dimly. "I _trust_ her, Chris…I trust her not to tell anyone."  
"But it's the situation _itself_, Karen. You're my _boss_. It's not like I work _directly_ with you." He crossed his arms over his chest. Why did he feel so bad about the whole thing? "That makes it even _more_ of a transgression."  
She smirked suggestively. "As if _you_ haven't done enough of that yourself." Her smirk faded when she realised Chris was not playing along with her at all. She knew he was doubtful, and who could blame him for feeling that way? "She's at that age where she's past making up rumours. Not that she ever _did_ to start with."

"Look, I don't doubt you trust Bex." He stated slowly. "You know her better than me, but I know enough to trust her _also_. She's a good _kid_, but what would it mean if she came in and saw me? That'd be a bombshell _anyone_ would wanna make _public_ and you should _know _that."  
Karen flitted her gaze away slowly.

"Think about what it could mean for the school, Karen." He added steadily. "And what the _board_ might make it out to be. Our working relationship…I doubt there'd be one _left_, both of us could be sent packing. And as for _us_…we certainly wouldn't be flavour of the month with anyone."  
She nodded dimly. "I know you're worried about where it'd all leave us. But you said yourself you wanted our relationship to be out in the open, and this is it."  
"Not in _this_ sort of way." Chris put to her. "If you really want this to carry on, Bex is better off _not knowing_. For now."  
"We can't keep this private _forever_, Chris." Karen protested. "How long have we been together now?"

"It doesn't matter how long we've been together or how committed we are, this is because of how close we are _professionally_." He looked away slowly. "The only _other_ way of getting around this is if you _sack_ me. That way the suspicions will go."

She shook her head. "No. I can't sack you. You mean too much."  
"Well, there you go then." The young male shrugged. "This stays _private_."

Karen hazily got back in the car, gazing at Bex as she did so. "Sorry, love. He's a bit…_shy_."  
She smiled softly. "I'm not going to _attack_ him."  
She looked away slowly, thinking over what to say to make this any easier for _all_ of them. "I'm seeing someone I _work_ with, Bex."  
"_Really_?" Bex sounded interested, but not in such a way that would seem she wanted to make up some sort of hearsay about them.  
"Not only do I _work_ with him, but I'm also his _boss_." Karen gazed over at her, noticing her expression didn't change. "Does that not bother you?"  
She shook her head.  
"Do you not at least want to start gossiping about it with anyone else?"  
"Nope." She replied chirpily.  
"Oh." This was news to _her_.

"I think as long as you _love_ them, it shouldn't matter _what_ they are to you – whether they're your boss or vice versa." Bex frowned. "You do _love_ him, don't you?"

"Oh, _very_ much so." Karen nodded slowly.

"Then there you go." She smiled softly. "Go and explain to him that I won't tell anyone. He's got my word on that."  
"You really promise not to tell anyone?"  
She nodded steadily. "I promise." 

Chris unsurely let Karen in a _second_ time; he couldn't help but feel a little confused as to why she was back again.  
"She will _not_ tell anyone." She reassured him. "She _promises_ not to."  
He still didn't seem sure.  
"Chris, she's not some little girl. She's not the sort to lie either. Please at least trust her."  
"O-ok…" He watched her quickly disappear, and she came back with Bex in tow.  
"It wasn't really much of a surprise anyway." She smirked. "I sort of knew it was _you_."  
Chris felt a little better from that remark and could only take that as a compliment; he positioned himself quite close to Karen, who took him to one side. "I don't know what it is you want help with…"

"I think something bad has happened to her." She told him quietly. "I've already tried talking to her, but she's not very open with me…because I know you're fair-minded, and quite good at giving _advice_…"  
He smirked a little. "If you say so."  
"She might open up more to you than she did with me."  
"So you just want me to listen to her basically?" He looked over at her, noticing she seemed a little weighed down from something that was possibly bothering her. "What am I to you exactly, a _shrink_?"  
Karen smiled softly. "I know that you're good at listening to others, that's all. Since letting me open up to you about the assault I had…"  
Chris seemed to get the idea. "O-ok, but I can't guarantee doing this will _work_."  
"Oh, I'm sure you can work your magic." She teased softly, tracing her finger along the underside of his jaw. "Like you _always_ do."

Karen decided to leave them alone together; what Bex was going to tell him was going to be of no concern of hers. Well, obviously it _was_, but if she chose not to tell her, that was up to her. She obviously didn't want to hurt her feelings or upset her.

Chris could tell from Bex's posture that she still seemed weighed down – almost to the point of exhaustion. It gave him the impression that she could keel over or black out at any given time, and he thought it might've been a good idea to get her lying down after the talk. Even having to talk to someone was draining in itself.  
"You want a drink?" He asked her carefully. It might've helped to wake her up a little, even if it was only something like _water_.  
She shook her head slowly. "I just feel like talking."  
"Ok." Chris leant back a little. "Talk away."

Once Karen was sure enough time had passed, she came back over; Chris let her in, keeping a steady gaze on her as she came in. "How did it go?"  
He couldn't honestly say it went well or not – he was no _shrink_! "She's said a lot. She obviously wanted to get it out of her system."  
"Well what did she tell you?"

"You'll have to ask her _yourself_, Karen."  
"Where is she?"  
"She's asleep." He noticed she was going to go and see her, but he stopped her. "She needs to get her energy back…you saw her earlier, she couldn't keep her eyes open. And having to talk about things like that is traumatising _enough_."  
Karen felt awful at not having as much control at that time.

"She'll be fine, honestly." Chris helped her to sit down. "All she wants is _sleep_, which I don't think she's _had_ for some time."  
"Sorry…"  
"Don't be sorry for anything. I know you're worried, but she did very well."  
She gazed at him slowly; she couldn't detect any lewdness coming from him. He was obviously just as worried about Bex as she was.  
"She can always _stay_ here for the night if you want." He offered shyly. "Now that she _is_ asleep, she might wanna stay that way."  
Karen smiled and placed a hand on his. "Thank you for that, Chris." 


	52. Chapter 52

It was Saturday the next day.  
Karen heard footsteps come from upstairs and she looked to see Bex tiredly standing in the lounge doorway. "How are you feeling, love?"  
She shook her head. "Not good."  
She grew worried at the fact that she was _still_ finding it hard to sleep – her first thought was that Chris hadn't done enough to eliminate the bad feelings she got through their talk together, but then she figured things like that would take their time. "Go back to sleep if you're still not better. Don't drag yourself out of bed like that." Maybe it was something sleep wouldn't be able to help with – not straight away anyway. "Unless…"

Karen came into Bex's room an hour later; she noticed Chris had pulled her into a hug and was simply holding her there. At first, she thought the pair of them were doing something _suggestive_, but she had to bear in mind that she trusted him enough not to do things like that.  
He slowly gazed up at Karen as she came in, and laid her down on the bed on her back.  
"I'm sorry to keep hassling you to come over and help her." She stated apologetically.  
"_Don't _be sorry." He noticed Bex stir a little but she remained asleep.  
"I just didn't think she could get off to sleep any other way."

"No, you were probably right. Trauma affects people in so many different ways." He felt a little shy when she kept her gaze on him, almost in an admiring way.  
"What did you do exactly?"  
"Well…nothing." Chris noted incredulously. "She just wanted _contact_, that was all, Karen. Without that, she couldn't relax."  
She nodded steadily, before flitting her gaze away from him.  
"There's something which is going to be hard explaining to you…" He started slowly. "And it concerns Bex."  
"Is it something she's _told_ you?"

He shook his head. What Bex had told him the previous night was to remain _private_. But in the case of where her health could be suffering, Karen _did_ have to know about that. "It might be worth taking her to the doctor for a mental assessment."  
Karen was half-expecting Chris to say that. She didn't think he thought she was _crazy_, but it could well develop into something that could be hard to get rid of.  
"Before the trauma sets in too deeply."  
"You're saying she's _traumatised_?"  
He nodded slowly. "Because of the way she's dealt with it and also her _behaviour_. I'm not a shrink, I can't be definite about it…but it's worth making sure."  
"What about medication though?"  
He moved himself over to the window. "For a start, they're not a quick fix for this sort of thing. Also, I wouldn't really wanna allow that without seeing a doctor."

A few minutes later, Chris was ready to leave.  
"Thank you so much for helping her." Karen stated appreciatively. "I'm sorry for dragging you out like this all the time."

"It's _not_ a problem." He assured her. "I don't want this to make her sick, because it could make _you_ sick as well."  
"Chris…" She rested a hand on his arm, squeezing at the firm muscle under his jacket sleeve. "Please do not worry about me. Everything's fine."  
"I can't help but worry about you." He relaxed a little when she cupped his face with one hand, tracing the contour of his cheekbone with her thumb. "I'm trying to look out for you as much as I can."  
"I appreciate your concern for us, honestly, I do. But I'm not as vulnerable as you think I am."  
"You're not as tough as you like to make yourself out to be either." His eyes glistened anxiously. "I'm not trying to lecture you on how to look after her, but I would take her to an STI clinic quite soon."  
"But she'd come from there a few days ago."  
Chris shook his head. "Karen, she never went there. She told me herself – she was too scared." He flitted his gaze away slowly. "Which I can understand, given what she's been through."  
"She won't allow me to take her to somewhere like that."  
"She'll need your _support_. If you wanna be there for her, whether she confides in you or not, she'll get herself sorted out. I'll still be there for her – for _both_ of you – but I'm not a doctor. They can help her more so than me." He took hold of Karen's hands and stroked the insides of her wrists softly. "She will _not_ turn down an offer of help. And now that she's offloaded it, she'll feel better having tests done at a place like that. That's why she never went, she's said so."  
Karen didn't want to let go of him. "Where are you going?"  
"Where do you think? Back home." Chris slowly pulled away. "If you want me, I can stay…but I really don't want any of the others finding out about us."  
She nodded slowly. "Is this how open our relationship is going to be then?"  
"It will be more open in time, Karen…_honestly_. But I don't want us to end up as subjects of gossip."  
"Can we at least take that risk, though, Chris?" She pulled him closer up against her, their bodies touching slightly. "Let them see just how deeply in love we are with each other?"  
He chose not to answer that, as she claimed his mouth with hers; she plunged her tongue into his mouth, lashing it playfully against his. They slowly withdrew, crestfallen that they had to do so. "I guess we've dragged ourselves into it a little."  
Karen shook her head slowly. "I don't want to drag myself back out again."  
"N-neither do I." Chris felt hot shocks go to every single part of his body; his hips slid down against hers, both bodies in flush contact. "That said, what do you wanna _do_ about it?"  
"What do you _think_ we should do?"  
"I don't know…sleep on it?"  
She smirked a little. "No, come on. No teasing this time." She silkily slid an index finger down the side of his neck, taking in his skin's dewiness. "Yours or mine?"  
He frowned. "Are you sure you should leave Bex here?"  
"Oh, so it's _yours_ we're going to, is it?" When she noticed his worried expression, she realised she had to stop her mild teasing. "Well, she's not exactly _suicidal_, is she?"  
"But with trauma, anything could happen." Chris told her carefully. "You don't know what state she'll be in when you get back here."  
Karen nodded slightly.  
"For your piece of mind, I think you should stay put." He placed his hands on her wrists. "And if you want me to stay, I can do that. Don't feel like you have to go through this on your own. No one deserves to, especially not you."  
She felt herself drift off as he pulled her into a protective embrace and rubbed her down her back. She closed her eyes, unable to resist the heaviness she felt at her eyelids. Even though he was very unassuming, he made her feel so safe.

"I'll always be here for you." He stated carefully, noticing the wind had picked up a little since they'd been outside.  
"Thank you." She mumbled out dimly.  
Chris smirked at how tired she sounded. "We should get you to bed. I think you're falling asleep on me."


	53. Chapter 53

Monday.

Bex waited in the small, clinically white room; she positioned herself on the bed, trying to ignore the iciness within the place.  
"Now this won't hurt and it'll only take a minute." The young-looking female doctor explained to her supportively.  
She twisted about a little on the bed on her back, trying to block out the feelings that she could see coming. "No."  
"Bex, you need to relax, else we won't know how badly hurt you are."  
She tensed up even more under the starchy blankets, causing the doctor to withdraw. "I-I'm sorry…I'm so sorry."  
"Don't be sorry, it's fine. The trauma is still set in quite deeply." She stood not too far away from her. "Have you seen anyone about how much this is affecting you?"

"I've spoken to someone if that's what you mean."  
"Well, that's always a positive thing. Even if it's someone like a friend or relative." She placed a hand on her shoulder supportively. "If you want, I can refer you to some counsellors…try and free some of this anxiety. And if you want to keep talking to the same person again, that's also a good thing in itself."  
Bex nodded unsurely.  
"The main thing is you're willing to get help for this."

Later on that evening.  
"You feel ready to talk again?" Chris eventually asked after ten minutes of silence between him and Bex.  
She nodded dimly.  
"Talk in your own time."  
She drew in a deep breath, slowly closing her eyes and letting her anxiety make her see things she didn't want to see. "I feel so awful."  
He sat closer to her, unsure of how to make her feel any better. He noticed that she seemed weighed down again, and he pulled her up against him. "This isn't your fault."  
"Then why do I feel so bad?"  
Chris felt her relax a little. "There's a lot of stigma surrounding this sort of thing. And some girls don't tell anyone as they might think it won't ever get sorted out. But it's good that you've told me."  
"W-will _you_ do anything about it?"  
He gazed at her, unsure. "If you wanna report it, that's _your_ call, Bex. Not mine."  
Bex nodded slowly. "It just feels like it's affecting _everything_."  
"If it's interfering with your life, then I _would_ intervene. _Anyone_ would if you felt like you couldn't cope. You're on the list for counselling. Try and stay strong for yourself up to then."  
She felt a tear roll down her cheek, and she hastily wiped it away in the vain hope that Chris didn't notice. "I-it's so hard…"  
He felt _awful_ that he couldn't do much more than talk to her; of course, that didn't mean to say it wasn't helping. All he could do was to give her plenty of time to talk it over some more, even if it meant her repeating herself, or allowing her as much time as he could to sleep. "You know, these feelings you have are normal."  
Bex shakily gazed up at him. "Th-they _are_?"  
He nodded slightly. "Don't ever think the way you're behaving is abnormal…or crazy. This is what shock does."  
She shuddered a little, although feeling safer as she was pressed up against him. "You know, there's something strange about all this."

"What's that?"  
She cast her gaze to the floor. "Sometimes I feel sad…and other times, I'm _not_. Other times I feel like I've frozen. Well, maybe not so much frozen, but I guess it's almost like I'm stuck in some sort of dream – and can't get out."  
Chris rubbed her down her back.

"Does that come off as odd to you?"  
"No, not at all. That _is_ still normal." He turned his body to face her more. "I know it happened a short time ago, but it _is_ still shock. And because you didn't wanna talk about it before, you've probably been repressing those thoughts and feelings – holding it back. And it's never good to do things like that because sooner or later they _have_ to come out."  
Bex suddenly came over tired, and he decided that she'd been through enough talk with him.  
"You feel like stopping?"  
She nodded slowly, and allowed him to lay her down in amongst the mass of warm blankets he let her have. "It feels like this is all taking forever."  
"I know it does, but it'll take some time." Chris positioned himself next to her, placing a hand on her wrist. "Even if it comes out in bits or you find yourself repeating the same stuff over, that doesn't make it any less conducive. That's part of the healing process…ok?"  
"Ok."  
He cast his gaze away, before flitting it back to her anxiously. "I know this is a sensitive question for me to ask, but do you ever feel like…_hurting_ yourself?" He hoped her answer was _no_, and in a way he didn't want to know the answer at all.  
Bex didn't seem sure. "I don't know…It's never _occurred_ to me to do so."  
He was slightly relieved. Although she'd said no, it didn't mean to say she would _never_ feel like doing that whatsoever. What she felt right then could alter an hour later. Shock changes people – and he _knew_ that. "Just try and sleep for now…ok?"  
"O-ok."

An hour had passed.

Chris decided to check up on her, confused when he realised she wasn't where he'd left her.  
He heard sniffling coming from behind the bathroom door, and was _shocked_ at what he saw.  
Bex was sitting down with her back against the wall – he didn't know why she was there at first, but it became more apparent when he noticed a small amount of dark red fluid on the floor.  
She'd cut herself.  
Chris's initial reaction was to simply stand there in shock; the shock was affecting her in a more severe way, right in front of him. Managing to get himself together, he bent down next to her, grabbed hold of a nearby towel and pressed it into the deep injury at her wrist. Once that had been taken care of and he'd managed to stem the loss of blood, his next plan of action was to remove the offending sharp object she'd used. Of course, that wasn't very easy as she was still holding it in her free, uninjured hand.

Chris decided the only way he could remove it from her was if he subtly eased it out – without aggravating the situation. He'd heard of cases where the victim was adamant not to go along with dropping their weapons and held onto it even tighter. He couldn't let the same thing happen. Not to _Bex_.  
"It's ok, you don't have to do this anymore." He placed a hand on hers, softly stroking at her wrist. "You can let go of it now."  
"P-please let me."  
"I can't, Bex. I'm sorry." He was slowly winning at this little game. "You've got too many people who love you too much to let this happen."  
She shivered a little – what from, Chris wasn't sure, but he guessed it was sheer despair of the situation. "I can't take this anymore."

He managed to take the weapon from her and slowly put it to one side; he'd done enough to immobilise her for then. His second worry was the cut she'd made. Luckily, the bleeding had stopped and had begun to heal.  
She gazed up at him anxiously. "Please don't tell my mum."  
"I'm going to _have_ to." His answer prompted her to lower her head. "This isn't something that I'm going to just _ignore_."  
"Are you going to take me away?"  
Chris helped Bex up off the floor. "I'm not like that." He made sure she was otherwise ok; her eyes were red from the few tears, but apart from that, no lasting damage. Maybe it was a better idea for her to stay up for a little bit – just to calm her down.


	54. Chapter 54

Bex guiltily peered down, as Chris carefully bandaged her injured wrist up; he did it ever so meticulously, careful not to aggravate the cut as it was placed over it.  
It shouldn't have hurt anyway, as he'd bathed it enough times, but it was a deep injury.  
"I think it should hold for now." He made sure the bandage was held quite firmly in place before flitting his gaze to her. "You ok?"  
She nodded slowly.  
"Bex, I know you feel bad…but don't. It was something you couldn't stop." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "You wanna stay up for a bit?"  
She nodded again. "I don't think I can go to sleep because of how bad I feel."  
Chris had to perk her up a little bit; it would reduce the depression she was so clearly feeling. "You want a drink?" He was hoping she would've gone for something warm if she did – that was more comforting than a _cold_ one.  
"O-ok."

Bex felt herself drifting off from the sheer exhaustion she'd been going through; she was slowly getting more and more tired, which was what Chris was _hoping_ for. The more tired she felt, the easier it would've been for her to get to sleep.  
"This'll get you relaxed."  
She took the cup from him thankfully, settling back down as he positioned himself next to her. "Thanks."

"Don't see it as a way of staying up later." He winked knowingly. "You still need your sleep."

Once Bex had finished that, Chris took the cup from her. "You wanna sort yourself out at all?"  
"In what way?"  
He was thinking along the lines of her taking a _shower_; something like that was also good at making anyone relax. "I-if you wanna get yourself cleaned up…" He shyly moved his gaze to the floor, sure that what he just said sounded _perverse_. Not that he was anything like that, but he didn't want her getting ideas.  
Bex smiled softly at his slight embarrassment. "Maybe tomorrow. I think for now I just feel like sleeping."  
"Ok."  
She slipped in amongst the warm blankets, as he pulled them up more over her. She gazed up at him, taking in a very warm blue in his eyes; they bore an almost paternal appearance as he carefully swept her long blonde hair to the way it should have been.  
"Feel any better?"  
She nodded dimly. In a way, she wanted Chris to stay with her till she fell asleep, as there was something that was so protective about him, which she couldn't put her finger on. But she would've felt embarrassed at asking him if he could do that – how old was she supposed to be? Plus, Chris might've felt exactly the same.  
"Something wrong?"  
Bex slowly looked away, sensing a tear that had started to creep from out of the corner of her eye.  
He slowly wiped it away with his sleeve, causing her to softly close her eyes and gaze back up at him.  
"I-I still feel scared."  
He said nothing, and let her talk some more.  
"I keep thinking that he's…right outside and he's going to come and hurt me."  
"No, don't think that." Chris placed a hand on her shoulder. "That's not going to happen. Don't be scared and don't worry."  
"But I _do_ worry and I don't know why."  
He squeezed her at her shoulder supportively. "Close your eyes and get some sleep, Bex…you're safe now."  
Her eyes slowly closed as he stroked her through her long hair and flicked it back against the pillows.  
Gently, he pulled away from her, leaving her to sleep.

The next morning.

Chris drifted back into consciousness, his attentions immediately focussing on Bex; he positioned himself down onto the floor at the end of the bed, noticing her still asleep in amongst the thick blankets. He breathed a sigh of relief after checking she was pretty much ok.  
He softly pressed a hand to her forehead, happy that she wasn't feverish or sick. God only knows what the shock could've done to her.  
Bex stirred a little, opening her eyes and finding herself looking into a pair of vibrant blue eyes.  
"How do you feel?"  
"Better." She certainly felt much better as he stayed beside her.  
"Stay for as long as you want." Chris put to her softly. "I wouldn't even mind if you were still here by the time I come back."  
"Y-you're _leaving_?" She rolled onto her side, watching him pull away in order to get dressed.  
"_Some _of us have to _work_." He smirked, thankful that she turned her back to him when he completely stripped off. "I'll be back _later_, though…I finish earlier, so I can come back and hand you over to your mum."  
Bex nodded slowly, casting her gaze to the floor. "I guess…even though I don't _want_ to."  
"I _know_ you don't, Bex, and I'm sorry. But I can't do much else for you."  
"Just to _be_ with you was enough." She stated quietly, hoping he didn't hear her.  
Chris flitted his gaze to her once he'd dressed himself. "What do you mean?"  
"I don't know, you just made me feel so safe." She watched him come back over to her and positioned himself even closer to her than before. "I wish I could stay with you."  
Now what he'd just been told had shocked him. He didn't mind that she felt better as that was what he was _aiming_ for, but for her to develop intimate feelings towards him? That would get him into a little bit of trouble.  
"I shouldn't feel this way, but I do."  
"B-Bex…" Chris started slowly. "For a start, I'm already taken – by your _mum_. Another thing is that I _teach_ you, and thirdly, you're too _young_ for me." All good reasons as to why a relationship with them would be wrong.  
"There's only a few years' difference between us though."  
"It's _more_ than a few years."  
Bex leant further forward, taking in a sweet scent that floated around him; it was a tempting scent, one she couldn't resist. She wanted to _touch_ him, at least do _something_ to him that allowed her to have him, even if it was only short-lived. "Can I kiss you?"  
"Not really." He stated. He didn't want to go down that road again. "I don't mind you _hugging_ me though, if you wanna touch me."  
She threw her arms around his waist, pulling him up against her. "I just want you to be there for me."  
"And I _am_ there for you. I'm here for _both_ of you." Chris twirled a long blonde strand of hair around his index finger. "I can have an adoptive relationship with you, but not an _intimate_ one."  
Bex nodded slowly. "Ok."  
"It's not that I don't _like_ you, but for us to be together…it wouldn't work."  
"Y-you love me though…right?"  
He smiled softly. "As a _daughter_, but nothing more. Your mum and I…we're very close."  
She gazed up at him carefully. "I won't tell anyone about you and my mum together."  
"I know you won't, I trust you enough."  
"I guess when I get handed back over to my mum…" She watched Chris tilt his head attentively. "…They're going to take me away."  
"No one's taking you away." He reassured her. "You might only have to go to a mental hospital _once_ and that's it. But they won't admit you if you're not dangerous."  
She smiled a little. "Thanks for looking after me."  
"You're welcome."


	55. Chapter 55

Chris came to see Karen just before he started.  
"How is she?"  
"She's better." He hovered quite close to her desk. "She didn't feel up to coming in, so I let her stay at mine for a bit."  
She smiled softly. "Thank you for that, Chris. You've been ever so good with her."  
He moved his gaze to the floor before flitting it back to her. "She did have a small incident, but it's all taken care of."  
"Why, what's happened?" She sharply got up, anxiety clearly there on her features. "Is she hurt?"  
"No, she's fine." Chris quickly positioned himself next to her, helping her to sit back down and stay calm. "She's fine, Karen…please don't worry."  
Karen nodded dimly. "So should I come and get her after work?"  
"Yeah…she's likely to wanna stay there till I get back." He knew that Bex did not want to go back to her _own_ home, which worried him. For a start, it was her _proper_ home, secondly she lived with her _family_.

Later on after work.  
Bex sharply jolted after hearing the flat door close; she half-expected Chris to be just on his own, but he led Karen, who was behind him, to where she was. "Why have you brought her here?"  
"Come on, love. Let's take you home." She smiled softly.  
"I want to stay here."  
Not oblivious to her protest, Chris remained up against the wall, allowing Karen to grasp Bex and start to take her back home.  
"You don't want to keep hassling Chris all the time."  
"I want to stay here." She reaffirmed, her eyes insistently fixed on him as he slowly turned to gaze back at her.  
"You should do what your mum says, Bex." He knew that he was doing the right thing by letting Karen take her. She was her daughter; she was in _her_ custody and not his. But he still offered her to stay at his for however long she wanted.  
"Chris, _tell_ her. Please…tell my mum I don't want to go."  
Karen gazed at Chris, who looked to her worriedly. "What does she mean?"  
"I said to her she could stay for however long she wanted." He noted quietly. "If she still feels unable to cope."

"She should go to a mental institution then, if she's getting like that." She retorted, shocked to see Bex go back over to him and wrap her arms around his waist.  
"Don't you think you're jumping the gun a bit here?" He twirled a few long, silky blonde strands around his index finger. "Trauma destabilises people. One day she could be fine, the next, not so. That doesn't mean to say she should be admitted just like that."  
Karen had to admit, she felt _awful_ for taking such a nonchalant view on her own _daughter_.  
"For now she needs to get herself sorted out and get another lot of sleep before she goes anywhere." Chris noticed her posture become more lax, almost like she was giving in to what he was suggesting. "She's _frightened_ at going anywhere like a mental hospital, if that's where you wanna take her. She thinks she won't come back out again."  
Karen nodded dimly. "Ok…I'll let her stay with you for one more night, Chris. But after that…I want to take her. At least then you won't be so burdened with having to look after her."  
"Karen, it's not a problem looking after her, I was more than happy to do that. But I wouldn't wanna let her go to some place she didn't wanna go."  
She smiled softly. "You've been so good with her."  
"S-so is it ok if she stays for tonight and goes back to you tomorrow?"  
"That's fine."

Bex felt like she was stuck in some dream as she'd positioned herself under the shower; the numbness taking over her body blocked out the hot water that had sprayed down onto her, and she couldn't get out of it.

"Everything ok in there?" Chris did not want to come in and _see _her completely stark naked – that would definitely see him being sent packing.  
No answer.

"Bex, I'm going to have to come in if you're having trouble." After all, he _was_ the only adult in the flat! And if _anything_ had happened to her, he _had_ to know about it. For all he knew, she could've slipped and knocked her head on the wall – anything could've happened.  
He came into the bathroom, noticing immediately that she'd stayed completely still against the wall; the water was going full-pelt onto her, and he was worried that it was scalding her without her even _feeling_ it. Luckily, she'd covered herself up, a fairly large towel covering her from her chest area to the tops of her legs.  
Once the water had been stopped, Chris tried to distract Bex's trancelike gaze, which didn't seem to be locked onto anything in particular. She just stood there stock-still and staring into space. This was trauma he'd _never_ seen before. "I'm going to have to get you out, ok?" He steadily placed his hands on her shoulders, squeezing her there in a supportive way. He was unsure as to if she'd _heard_ him, but his guess was probably that she _hadn't_.  
He pulled her up against him, scooped her into his arms and carried her onto the bed. "You ok to dry yourself, Bex?"  
No answer.  
Chris inched himself closer to her. "You can't exactly go to bed like that, you know."  
"F-feel so cold." She managed to say.  
He slipped the towel further up over Bex's shoulders, pulling her up against him; he started to dry her himself, rubbing her down her back. He was worried – had she gone completely _brain-dead_? He really _hoped_ not. "You'll soon warm up."  
She felt a little better being up against a warmer body, and she relaxed a little.  
"You wanna get something on so I can towel dry your hair for you?" Chris did not want to dry her if he was going to end up exposing her _private areas_. He didn't know what sort of things could set the trauma off.

"I feel so incapable." Bex mumbled, as he positioned himself behind her and started to rub her hair dry once she'd gotten dressed.  
"Ssh…don't feel that way." He managed to dry her hair quite quickly, detangling the long straight strands of it by combing his fingers through it. "I know it's interfering with your life, but you have to try and fight it."  
"I can't." She put to him weakly, prompting him to place his hands on her shoulders. "I don't feel strong enough to."

Chris was quiet for a few moments.  
"I don't even remember what happened…how did I even end up here?"  
He wasn't surprised that she didn't remember. She completely froze everything out. Almost like she couldn't respond. "I think you went into emotional shock."  
"I did _what_?"  
He laid her down in amongst the blankets, which was her previous spot for sleeping. "You froze…that was all. It's a normal response to being in shock."  
Bex sat up, bringing her legs up to her chest. "It sounds worse than that."  
"It isn't. It really isn't." He got her lying back down again. He realised it was getting quite late, and he softly swept her long hair back away from her eyes. "Keeping yourself awake at night like this isn't helping. Try to relax…ok?"  
"Can't I stay up with you?"  
"I shouldn't let you really." Chris sounded apologetic. "I know you don't wanna be on your own, but you need your sleep more so than me."  
"I want this to go." Frustrated, Bex rolled onto her stomach and buried her face into the pillow. "I want it to stop, Chris."  
Gently, he inched closer to her and placed a hand on her back. He rubbed her there, feeling so bad that he could do no more than what he was already doing.

She jolted from the contact, and sharply gazed up at him, as his bright blue eyes placidly fixed onto hers. She threw her arms around him, as he wrapped his around her; he rubbed her down her back some more as she relaxed against him. Above anything else, contact was what she was screaming out for.  
"If you ever want someone to talk to…" Chris could tell she was relaxing in his embrace as he continued to rub her. "…I'll be right here for you."  
Bex smiled a little.

"See, that's better." He got her to lie back down as she made no movement to resist that time. "Try and be strong, Bex…you can fight this."


	56. Chapter 56

The next morning.

Chris came into the room, noticing Bex sitting up in amongst the thick blankets; she certainly looked more awake. "Wow. Someone looks very bright-eyed."  
She smiled a little. "Well…the hug certainly helped."  
"Oh, so you're putting it down to _me_, are you?" He positioned himself quite close to her, their bodies within _close_ proximity.  
Bex found herself getting lost in Chris's sparkling blue eyes; there were colours in there she never knew existed. Subtle hints of violet and emerald emerged in the sunlight, and it was such a tempting sight.  
"Something wrong?" He knew he should really start thinking about letting her get ready so they could head off together, but he felt frozen to the spot as she took in the seductively sweet scent that hovered around him. He didn't want it to happen, but he could not stop it.

"C-can I _kiss_ you?" She knew his answer from the _first_ time; he forbade her from doing it, and he had good reasons for doing so. But she was too tempted that time, and after everything he'd done for her…"As my way of saying thank you?"  
"I don't think you should."

"Chris, please…how else can I thank you?" Bex watched him get up, and she chose that opportunity to push him down onto the bed and sit on his lap, facing him. "It doesn't have to mean anything."  
Chris found himself in a compromising position; he made no move to touch her, as she pressed her lips down onto his very softly.  
She slid her tongue between his lips, licking at them sultrily. "And you don't have to do anything…just let it happen."

"B-Bex…" He tilted his head back, as she pressed herself further against him and closed her mouth on his lower lip, biting it a little. He gasped when he felt her fingertips position themselves under his jaw.  
"You taste as good as you _feel_."  
Chris closed his eyes as she brought him down onto the bed on his back and slid herself onto him. He _knew_ it was wrong, but he was tempting her too much! Just how old was she supposed to be?  
Bex withdrew from him, a sweet taste reaching her tongue. "Wow…you _do_ taste good."  
"This has to stop." He pulled himself away, swiftly retreating further into the middle of the bed. "I-I'm with someone _else_, Bex."  
She slowly looked away. "I know…and I'm sorry. But I couldn't stop."  
Relaxing slightly, he felt his cheeks flush and then go back to their normal state. "That never happened."  
She watched him shakily get up, straightening out the slight creases in his shirt. "I'm sorry, Chris…I didn't mean to hurt you."

"You didn't hurt me, I'm just shocked." Chris got his keys out once he was sure she was ready to go. "Don't worry, nothing came out of it. It _was_ just a kiss, anyway."  
Bex nodded softly. "Of course."  
"Which meant _nothing_."

Karen had started early; she found it hard to concentrate when she knew Bex wasn't a hundred percent. But _Chris_ was looking after her, and he'd convinced her she was perfectly fine.  
The door slowly opened, and he slowly came in. "I believe I have something to give to you."  
She turned round, happy to see him come in. It hadn't been that long since they last saw each other, but she still missed him a bit.  
"One daughter – as you requested." He winked, as Bex came from behind him.  
Karen wrapped her arms around her. "How are you feeling, love?"  
"Better."  
"See, I told you she'd be fine." Chris smirked.

Later on that morning.  
Chris had one unfilled block where he wasn't doing anything – except catch up on his marking when he was actually having little moments of fun here and there with a certain _person_.  
He heard knocking at his door, and Bex came in.  
"Hope I wasn't interrupting anything."  
"No, not at all." He stopped what he was doing, peering up at her steadily; a worried expression formed on his face when she perched herself on the corner of his desk. "Is everything ok, Bex?"  
She nodded, hastily wiping away a tear that was making its way from the corner of her eye to her cheek. It didn't leave him convinced that she was ok at all.  
Chris moved himself away from behind his desk and went to the side of her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I don't think everything _is_ ok – is it?"  
"I'm sorry…I did want to say – but something stopped me."  
"It's ok, it's ok."  
Bex looked up to him, her eyes becoming red from the number of tears that had already started to fall. "I feel like I can't cope."  
He didn't know what she was implying.  
"I think I need to be admitted."  
He lowered an eyebrow. "A-are you _sure_ you wanna do that? It could be just a bad spell you've got."  
She shuddered a little. "I can't concentrate. And I'd be better off to everyone if I just disappear."  
"Now that's not true." Chris squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. "There are people out there that love you, very much. For you to do this…is it what you really want?"  
"I feel like I need to get away for a bit."

"But Bex…you won't _be_ going away for a bit. You could be kept there for quite some time. I wouldn't like to put a limit on things like that, but you could be looking at weeks, maybe months, before they let you out."  
"Take me up there." Bex turned to him more, her hands going to the sleeve of his shirt. She'd taken hold of him in quite a despondent way, like she was seeking protection from him. "Please, Chris…"

"What? Now?" To be fair, the nearest mental hospital wasn't that far away, but he was sure Karen should have a right to know, she was her _mother_! "Don't you think your mum should know?"  
She shook her head. "I don't want her to know."

"I think she _should_, if _I_ do. She's going to wanna know what's _happened_ to you."  
"Please, just take me…I feel like I'm going _crazy_ if I don't go."

Both of them sat in the waiting room of the mental hospital, waiting to be seen by the nurse who was on site.

"You know, if you wanna back out of doing this, you can do so…" Chris started, as Bex shook her head slowly.  
"I want to do this. I _have_ to."

"No one is making you do this, Bex. But by not telling your mum…"  
"Bex Fisher?"  
She shakily looked up, seeing a nurse come into the waiting room; she sharply got up from her chair, sensing a tug on her arm.  
"Is this what you want?" Chris gazed up at her worriedly.  
She nodded carefully.  
"You want me to come with you?"  
The nurse came closer to them. "You're quite welcome to come with her, if that's what she'd like."  
He unsurely got up, and they both held onto each other as the nurse took them to where Bex was going to be kept. 


	57. Chapter 57

Bex sat, shivering, on the chair in the small room; it was covered in a very neutral beige colour, nothing too clinical.  
Chris perched himself on a chair next to her, taking in her worried appearance – he couldn't help but think she was doing the wrong thing by sticking herself in a place like that. She needed _help_, sure, but she should at least have tried to help herself first.  
"Ok, well…" The nurse came in and took in her shaken appearance. "There are a few things we'd want to go through with Bex before we get her to her bed."  
He nodded dimly, turning to Bex. "I'll leave you to get settled, ok?"  
"Chris…" She mumbled pleadingly.

"Ssh…it's ok. I'm not going anywhere and I'm not leaving you. Just relax – she's not going to hurt you."

Twenty minutes had gone by.  
The door to Bex's room had opened, and the nurse came out.  
"You can see her now."  
Chris slowly came in, seeing her sitting up in bed; she had the blankets folded up to her waist and he sat next to her – she didn't seem to register anything at all, let alone the fact he was sitting right beside her. "Is she settling in ok?"  
"She's fine, just a little in shock."  
He tried to prise Bex's gaze that happened to be fixed on nothing in particular, but it wasn't working.  
She stared at the wall in front of her, hardly able to divert her gaze away.  
"Bex…" Chris gave up sitting next to her and positioned himself on the edge of the side of the bed. He slid his fingers through her long blonde hair. "Let me call your mum…so that she knows where you are."  
She shook her head slowly.  
"It'll be better for _all_ of us if you let me. She might not come here, and even if she does she might not stay for very long. But you'll make her get worried sick when she finds out that you won't come back later."  
"We're going to have to start sedating her soon…just so that she can relax." The nurse explained to him carefully.  
Chris knew that he wouldn't have much of a chance getting _anything_ out of her once she'd be put out. "Bex, your mum has a right to know that you're here. I'm going to have to tell her whether you let me or not."  
Bex got a little startled when she felt something sharp go into her wrist; she looked to her right hand side, noticing that the nurse had fed in a small syringe. "What's going on?"  
"It's ok, it's to help you sleep." By that time, he knew she was already starting to get drowsy.  
Within a few more minutes, she went to sleep without any fuss.

Chris carefully swept her long blonde hair away from her eyes, as she lay asleep in bed; he stayed with her for a further five minutes, before leaving her on her own.

Karen peered up from what she was writing to see Chris come in. "Wow – you must have a lot of spare time on your hands…or is this a _fleeting_ visit?"  
"Well…neither."  
She frowned. "Is everything all right? You seem _upset_."  
He heavily sat down, not wanting to look directly at her. "I did something so, so bad."  
She sat beside him and placed a hand on his back. She didn't like his posture – it was one of sheer helplessness. "Chris, what's happened?"  
Chris shivered a little, knowing that what he was about to do was something he _should_ really do. He swallowed hard before gazing into Karen's dark eyes. "Bex came to see me earlier."

"Is she still having problems?" When he didn't answer, she pressed him a little more. "She can stay with you for another night – I do want her back though." She smiled a little.  
"I-it's not that." He flitted his gaze away. "Well it is and it isn't. She felt like she couldn't cope. She wanted me to take her to the mental hospital."

Karen was quiet for a few seconds. "She's better off with either you or I. She was probably overreacting."  
"I took her there."  
She stopped her stroking at his back. "Y-you did what?"  
"She literally _begged_ me to…a-and she looked a _state_, Karen. I couldn't let her carry on like that." Chris saw her eyes harden slightly. "She had to have someone to speak for her, she could barely form a sentence the whole time she was there."

She got up and positioned herself against the windowsill.  
"I _had_ to intervene." Of course, that was true, he was the only adult in the place who knew exactly what she was going through.  
"Well, next time, don't bother."  
He was pretty much under the impression that she was taking her anger out on _him_ rather than the actual problem. He was acting as a go between anyway and that wasn't his fault!  
"I need to see her."  
"She's asleep." Chris had to correct himself. "They put her to sleep as she wasn't relaxing."

"I don't suppose she would after being taken to a place like that."  
"Even I didn't think she'd benefit from staying there…"  
"Then _why_ let this happen?" Karen snapped at him, cutting off his sentence. "You let this happen to her."

For the rest of that day, Chris and Karen barely _talked_ to each other.  
Tom came in to see her, just before she was making tracks to go. "Finishing early?"  
"I have to drive to the mental hospital just up from here." She told him. "Bex is staying there."

He frowned. "Is she…quite sick?"  
"Well, she's sicker than I _thought_." She didn't want to go into details as to _who_ took her up there. "And I don't know what time they would allow people to visit."  
He nodded steadily. "Everything _is_ ok, though, right?"  
Karen forced a soft smile, but it didn't come off natural. "Fine."  
"I can always tell when something is on your mind, and I don't doubt that _Chris_ would twig that something is up with you."  
She swallowed hard, realising that what Chris did wasn't really his fault. He _was_ looking out for both of them, and anyone had the right to intervene if a traumatised person needed extra help. Ok, Bex wasn't on the verge of being suicidal, although she _attempted_ to self-harm, but by stating she couldn't _cope_…what else _could_ he have done? "I-I'd better go."

When it was after work, Tom caught Chris _still working_. "What _is_ it with people today?"  
"What do you mean?" The younger male peered up from what he was writing.  
"Karen's finished early, and you're still working." He smirked a little. "Not burning the midnight oil, are you?"  
He put his pen down. "Well, I'm probably not in her good books right now, put it that way."  
"Why not?"  
Chris drew in a deep breath. "I don't really wanna tell you. I know we're both mates, but it _is_ quite personal."  
Tom understood. "Ok, but it wouldn't have anything to do with her leaving early, would it?"  
"Sh-she left early?"  
He came closer to him. "She had to go and see to Bex…but I guess you know more about this than me."  
He sharply got up. "What's that supposed to mean?"  
Tom was surprised at his sudden attitude change. He was _never_ like that, unless something was still bothering him. Usually, he had no trouble expressing his emotions, so this was a new response to him. "I meant because you two are together…sort of."  
Chris relaxed a little. He knew he meant well anyway, but ever since Karen had rejected his help…he felt a little worked up. Probably because he'd already stated that he had their best interests at heart, and without his help, they wouldn't be as supported. "Sorry…didn't mean to snap at you."  
Tom smiled a little. "That's ok, mate…don't worry, I understand you're a little bit tense right now."  
He swept a hand through his bangs. "I just need to take my mind off it right now. That's something going home isn't going to help."  
The older male placed a hand on his shoulder. "If you want, I can stay with you till you finish up here."

"Tom, I…"  
"Come on, Chris…else you'll be on your own."  
Chris gazed up at him dimly. "I don't want you to baby sit me." He knew that he was seen as the baby amongst the other members of staff, but he wasn't exactly_ helpless_.  
"No, don't worry. I'm not going to be hanging around here. I can go to my _own_ room…I've got stuff I need to take care of myself."

"O-ok…"


	58. Chapter 58

Karen made her way through to the reception area of the mental hospital, coming across the same nurse who had escorted Bex to where she was going to be kept. "I'm here to visit someone."

"May I ask who?"  
She explained that she was there to see her daughter.  
"I'm afraid she's in bed at the moment."  
"Well can I see her?"  
The nurse took on a more supportive look. "She's been put to sleep. But if you want to see her, you can."  
When they got to where Bex was sleeping, she was actually awake.  
"Oh, love…" Karen wrapped her arms around her, as she remained sitting up. "You got me so worried."

"Who told you I was here?"  
"Chris told me." She weakly admitted, and she saw her fold her arms across her chest. "He couldn't keep it a secret from me, Bex. And he did the right thing by telling me." _Although he didn't do the right thing in taking you up here in the first place_, she thought icily.  
But the fact that Bex was kept up there was something Karen could easily cancel out just like that. "Do you want to stay here, love?"  
She nodded weakly. "I know it may seem like I'm coming off as someone crazy, but I just need some time alone…"  
"When Chris took you here…did you talk him into this?" She wanted to know.

"I explained to him that I couldn't cope…so I did convince him to take me here, yeah."  
She gazed at her steadily.

"It wasn't his fault, mum. He wanted to help."  
"Ok. So long as I know that he didn't take you here involuntarily."  
"No, he didn't." Bex settled more in amongst the blankets. "He isn't like that."  
"No…" Karen peered down at the blankets slowly. "No, he's _nothing_ like that."  
She followed her thoughtful gaze. "He's been _good_ to us, mum…I know you deserve to have him."  
She smiled softly as she gazed back to her. "Get some sleep, love…ok? I'll give you as much time as you want to feel better. But if you want me at any time…"  
" – To call you." She smirked playfully. "I got it."

Tom realised that time was getting on; he didn't want Chris _or_ himself to get over-tired.  
He went back to where he was, getting close to wanting to prise him off the chair he was sitting on. "Come on, you, off you get."

"What's the time?" Chris was sure his eyelids were close to feeling so heavy he could barely keep them up.  
"Coming up to six." Tom pulled the younger male up onto his feet, as he weakly gave in to the idea of going. "Come on, we don't want you getting tired."

Chris felt his mobile vibrate in his pocket, and he quickly answered it. He frowned at the familiar-sounding voice, and it was of one that sent chills down his back. "How did you get this number?"

The caller hung up, leaving the young male speechless. Who the hell tried to call him, and _why_?  
His mobile went off again, and without looking at the screen at who was calling him, he sharply answered. "What?"  
"I'm sorry." Karen was on the other end. "I didn't mean to blame you for taking Bex to the mental hospital. You meant well."  
"K-Karen?" Chris said in a pale voice.  
"Who else did you think it was – or should I ask how many _other_ girls' numbers you've got on your mobile?" She taunted.  
"I-I didn't know it was you, I thought it was…someone else." He leant against the side of his car, relief washing over him at hearing her.  
"Are you ok? You sound shocked." Karen noted.  
"I'm fine…I think." He looked round anxiously, not seeing anyone else about. He was starting to feel…_paranoid_.  
"Come over to mine. I need to make this up to you."  
The shock eventually faded away from Chris, and he felt a little bit better. "And how are you going to do _that_ exactly?"  
"Well…" There was a seductiveness in her voice. "If you come over here, I'll _show_ you."

He anxiously waited for Karen to open the door.  
When she answered, he couldn't help but _stare_ at what she was wearing.  
She wore a very thin, satin-like shawl that was undone; although she was wearing a nightdress, it was by no means long, and left nothing to the imagination. It was almost see-through.  
She coyly twirled one of the ties to her shawl with her fingers. "Fancy seeing _you_ here."

"Yeah…fancy." Chris wrapped his arms around her waist, allowing their hips to meet.  
Karen took in that familiar yet seductively sweet scent on his skin; she nuzzled her nose against his cheek, softly kissing him there. "So where do you want it?"  
"I-I don't know…" His voice tailed off as she softly tilted his head back by placing a finger under his jaw.  
"Mmm…well, maybe I should give you a bit of time to think it over." Her lips gently grazed his neck, causing him to gasp against her. She loved it when he made cute little sounds.  
Unable to resist any longer, he pushed her up against the hall's wall, their hips moving together. Karen hastily shut the door behind her, as Chris picked her up in his arms and carried her into her lounge.  
"Oh, so you've made up your mind about where you want it." She breathed, as he laid her down on the floor and pressed his lips into the curve between her neck and shoulder. She closed her eyes as she slid her fingers through the dark strands of his hair. "You're certainly one who likes to surprise your women, aren't you?"

He said nothing, but softly stroked her over her chest where the delicacy of the shawl had fallen away to reveal her glowing complexion. It was something he found _very_ sexy.  
Karen gasped under Chris, as her hands moved lower to his shoulder blades, sliding her index fingers over the curves of them. They felt so powerful and strong for such a slim body. She felt his hand under her stroke her at her back, causing her to arch it and move herself up to him. He knew which of her areas were more receptive and how to touch them!  
Happy that he'd gotten her lightly stimulated, he lowered his lips down onto hers, and she freely granted him access to her mouth. His tongue plunged into her mouth, and her tongue gladly joined his – they slid up against each other, both enjoying the feeling.  
They withdrew, and she gazed up into his vibrant blue eyes, as he lightly stroked her along her back.  
"So now…" Karen managed to gasp out from their passionate kissing. "How do you want to do this?"  
"However you want." Chris stayed where he was, feeling good enough just to hold her.  
"One thing's for sure…" She melted inside when he brushed a stray bang back with his index finger. "I don't want this to stop."  
"It doesn't _have_ to stop." Submissively, he slid his tongue along her lower lip, causing her to squirm under him. "This can carry on for however long you want."  
The way he was touching her caused her pulse to race. She closed her eyes at the feelings buzzing through her body.  
"I could make love to you over and over again…" He carefully drifted his index finger down along the front of her body, to her navel. He circled it a few times, eliciting a soft whimper from her. "…And never stop."


	59. Chapter 59

The pair of them lay, with their legs intertwining each other, on the floor.  
"Mmm…you're so good." Karen stroked Chris along his broad chest tenderly. "You certainly know how to excite me."  
"Well, I try."  
She smiled softly. "I guess you _are_ at an advantage though…being a _science teacher_."  
He inched a finger to her pubic bone, gliding it up and down; she felt a blush start at her cheeks. "As if _that_ has anything to do with it."  
"You _are_ getting a bit cheeky, aren't you, Mr Mead?" Karen pulled him up against her, allowing their lips to crash together. They both whimpered at the contact. "I might have to teach you a lesson."  
Chris was caught by surprise when he felt a finger slid across his hip to the spot just under his navel; a warmth travelled up his spine and he gasped softly at the touch.  
"I thought this might catch you out." She liked exciting him like that. "I know every inch of your body…"

He closed his eyes as she placed her hands on his waist and gently flicked her tongue into the small recess; squirms accompanied the helpless gasps, and it was beginning to develop into something he could not control.  
"…And I know exactly what makes you _go_." She accentuated "go" by moving a hand down in between his legs and gently caressing him as he stiffened against her. "I was right…you _are_ getting excited, aren't you?"

"More…" Chris opened his eyes, the shimmer becoming tamer, more submissive. "I-I want _more_, Karen…give me it."  
Karen loved the way his eyes shimmered, varying their shine as he waited impatiently for her to have him. "Oh…so you want _more_?"  
"Now."  
She smiled seductively. She hadn't expected him to want to go again. "Well…if more is what my deputy _wants_…then more is what my deputy shall _get_."

He gasped when her hand encircled him; that was something he'd _never_ gone through whilst being with her.  
"This ok with you?"  
He nodded dimly, closing his eyes as she started to caress him. New, exciting feelings pulsed their way through him, and it felt so good that he didn't want to stop.

Karen took a small bit of pleasure in seeing Chris buck up to her, his hips slamming upwards into her touch rhythmically. "Want me to make you go, do you?" She taunted, surprised at the tempo he was going at. He was unbelievably _quick_ and had picked up the pace _rapidly_. "Why, who's your master?" _Or mistress, for that matter…  
_"Y-you…" He gasped out, feeling a deep blush start at his cheeks. "I-I want _you_."  
"I want _you_, too." She lowered her lips down onto his, and, sliding her lips around his lower lip, bit him softly. She heard him cry out submissively, but he didn't stop his quick bucking. In fact, she was sure he _sped up_. She closed her eyes at savouring something sweetly metallic on her tongue. He obviously liked being subjected to a little bit of pain if he was close already. She softly licked at the area she bit, causing him to utter a low whimper in his throat.  
Unable to control it for much longer, Chris excitably gasped and slowed his movements, coming to a complete stop on the floor; his broad chest heaved heavily, and he whimpered a little from pain as she withdrew from him.  
"Something tells me you enjoyed that." Karen smiled sultrily at him. "You _like_ it rough, then, do you?"  
"I-I guess…" He gasped out. "But I never really wanted to do that with _you_."  
"Why not?"

He managed to get his breath back, and he sat up shakily. "I guess really because I don't wanna hurt you."

She placed a hand on his thigh. "You won't hurt me, Chris. I promise. You can do whatever you want to me, and you will _not_ hurt me."

"B-but the assault…does that not still bother you?"  
She smiled softly. "Not as much as it did – thanks to you."

The next day.

Karen was feeling _exceptionally_ affectionate; she couldn't keep her hands off Chris as the two of them got ready to go to work.  
"I hope you're not going to keep doing that at _work_, young lady." He taunted, secretly enjoying the fact that she kept wrapping her arms around him and taking in that temptingly musky, sweet scent.  
"So what if I _did_?"  
"Well…" He turned round, wrapping his arms around her waist. "If you _did_, I might have something to say about that."  
Karen smiled softly.  
"Come on, we'd better go – before it gets too late."

When they got to the staff room, Karen immediately pinned Chris to the back of the door, and plunged her tongue into his mouth; he didn't exactly resist, but he was certainly _surprised_.  
She withdrew from him gently. "You don't like it?"

"Y-you want a _public display_?" He assumed, surprised. He felt her hands on his hips, pulling him closer to her.  
"There's no one here." Karen sultrily gazed into Chris's confused eyes. "Come on…you know you want to."

Tom came in to the room, seeing the pair kiss very shyly. "Don't mind me." He teased lightly.

"How about we go public?" She put to him, her arms around his neck.

"_No_." The young male said, incredulous. "This stays private."  
"But I love you."  
The others started to come in, and Chris quickly pulled himself away and out of Karen's affectionate embrace.

"What's going on here then?" Ruby noticed the connected look they both gave each other. Even though they weren't doing anything remotely affectionate, there was a definite attraction between them, which fascinated the others.  
Chris went to go, when Karen grabbed his wrist and pulled him up against her. He wanted to reaffirm their position within their situation. "This stays _private_." He told her slowly yet firmly.  
They left together, and he pulled himself free from her grip.

"Chris, come back here."  
He sharply turned round. "Do you realise how close to _call_ that was? You almost got us found out."

"Oh, come _on_. We can't keep sweeping this under the carpet. How private do you want this to get? They'll find out eventually."  
Chris flitted his gaze to the floor sharply. "I do _love_ you, Karen – more than _anything_. But you're going to have to work with me when it comes to situations like this."  
Karen nodded dimly. "So we carry on living this lie, is that it?"

"This relationship is _not_ a lie." He had to think of something that would well and truly elucidate his feelings for her – and he wasn't talking about the three-letter word that they often did every day.  
"Well, whatever you want to make it out to be. Certainly feels like a lie now." She made to go, when his voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Come out with me tonight."  
"And go _where_?" She put to him, helplessly. "We've been to every single place in Rochdale."  
"Don't say anything." Chris's big, blue eyes bore a shimmer Karen had _never_ seen before. "Just do as I say…and go with this."


	60. Chapter 60

"Well…this is certainly nice." Karen complimented, as Chris courteously slipped her coat off her and pulled her chair out for her.

He sat in front of her, the candles bringing out the lighter, brighter blue hues in his eyes. "Well, I _want_ it to be…for what I wanted to do."

"Why, what _were_ you going to do?" She smiled softly, prompting him to fish around in his jacket pocket.

"I was going to ask you to wear something _special_…if you didn't _mind_, that is." Chris managed to take out a small box, swallowing hard as he went to steel himself for what he was going to say. "Would you object to this?"

"O-object to what?"

"To be my _wife_." He opened the box, revealing an understated diamond solitaire ring.

Karen felt the words get stuck in her throat. "C-Chris…I…"

"Karen…" His voice sounded tender and protective. "Will you marry me?"

She watched him carefully take the ring out of the box and affectionately slide it onto her finger.  
"By being with me this way, this guarantees that I will look after you – and I promise that I will _always_ do so. Because I love you." Chris gazed into her eyes, loving the way they sparkled despite their darkness. "I've _never_ felt this way about anyone."  
Karen found herself being drawn into the big, bright blue orbs. They were amazingly beautiful.  
"Take all the time in the world." He soothingly stroked her wrists as he took hold of them. "You don't need to give me your answer yet. Sleep on it if you want more time to think about it."  
She nodded dimly.  
"Just because you haven't yet given me your answer doesn't mean you don't feel the same way about me as I do about _you_."  
"Yes, I _will_ marry you."  
Chris swallowed hard again. "R-really? You _will_?"  
She smiled softly. "Yes, I will."

When they got back to his, Chris was surprised that Karen was _tipsy_. "Wow – I hope you don't get tipsy on our _wedding day_." He winked. "One glass of wine and you're on the floor."  
She stumbled onto the floor, prompting him to quickly bend down to her level and make sure she was ok.  
"You ok?" He was sure he heard her knock something – like her leg – on the floor. "That was quite a nasty knock I heard."  
"I think I'm ok." Karen was a little shaken, if anything; she was sure she landed strangely on her wrist.  
"Does it hurt?" Chris gently took her hand with his, stroking the fair skin over the contour of her wrist. "We don't want you breaking a _bone_, do we?"  
They stared at each other for a little bit, both loosely sexually charged.  
It certainly didn't help when Karen could take in that same yet seductive sweet scent on his skin.  
Giving in to each other's attraction, they slowly leant closer, their lips pressing together and their mouths hungrily joining each other.  
She plunged her tongue into him, grazing it against his. He whimpered at the contact.  
She closed her eyes, intuitively seeking out the sweetness in his mouth and loving the flavours that awaited her. Hints of vanilla merged with sugar reached her tongue and assaulted her senses.  
They both slowly withdrew, as she carefully slipped her tongue over and along Chris's lower lip. There was a slight sugariness to that also.  
"I-I'm guessing _dessert_ wasn't _enough_ for you." He gasped out nervously.  
She smirked sultrily, wrapping an arm around his waist and pulling him closer to her. "Well…I could always have second helpings."  
"Really, like what?"  
"Do I really need to answer that?" She pressed her lips to his again and softly sucked on his lower lip, drawing out sweeter, sugary tastes.

The next day.  
Karen awoke, finding herself in Chris's protective embrace; he wrapped his arms around her, pressing her close to his body. His legs had wrapped around hers defensively, ensuring that she stayed up against him.

His eyes slowly opened, revealing two bright, blue pools. She was amazed at how vibrant they always were. "Morning, my angel."

"Morning to you, my love." She felt her insides melt at him calling her something like that.  
"Good sleep?"

She nodded softly. "Yourself?"  
"Better knowing that you're mine now." Chris pressed his lips against hers softly, and their tongues carefully met each other.  
Karen looked over at the time, crestfallen to know what it was. "Do we have to get up?"  
"Yeah…'fraid so." He chirpily put to her, sitting up as she did the same. "Pity we can't stay in bed like this all day."  
"What about the others?" She started to get dressed.  
"What about them?" He buttoned his shirt up.  
"I mean do we tell them about this?"  
"Absolutely not." Chris noted firmly. "If _they_ were told, the chances are they would probably go and tell the _whole school_."  
She flitted her gaze away resignedly.

"Karen, come on. Work with me." He snaked his arms around her waist. "We'll tell them all when _I_ say."

"Which will be _when_, Chris?" Karen put to him quietly. "A _year_ from now?"  
"Don't be silly."

She nodded slowly. "Ok…if I must."  
"Yes, of _course_ you must. We _both_ have to if we wanna maintain a professional relationship within the proximities we have and still love each other." Chris nuzzled his nose against the top of her head. "All I want is to keep you safe. Doing this safeguards us."  
"I just don't like all this secrecy."  
"I know, and I'm sorry that we have to do it this way." His bright eyes fixed themselves onto hers. "Just try to trust me on this…ok?"  
"It's not that I don't _trust_ you, Chris." She told him openly. "But I want this to be out in the open soon."  
"And it _will_ be." He smiled softly. "Just not yet."

Karen glanced down at the ring adorning her finger; she slid it off resignedly, not wanting to be without it for some reason.  
She then had a thought…she would _take_ it with her – without him knowing – and then wear it.  
What was the harm in that?


	61. Chapter 61

Once she was sure Chris had well and truly gone away for an hour or so, Karen replaced the ring on her finger; it wasn't long before Janeece entered.  
"I got these papers for you, Mrs Fisher…_what's that_?" Her sentence was cut off when she inadvertently caught sight of the sparkle coming from the diamond solitaire. "That's so _pretty_."

"Oh, this?" She casually flitted her gaze to the ring, happy that she'd gotten a response off someone. "Just something _Charlie_ bought for me…"  
Janeece smirked playfully. "I don't think it's something your _husband_ would get you, you've got a new admirer, haven't you?"  
Karen swallowed hard. Well, she couldn't lie to anyone about her relationship. "I'm engaged, Janeece."  
"But I thought you were already married."  
She shook her head. "I-I met someone else."  
"He must be _well_ loaded to have gotten you that." She noted. "It must be worth about a _grand_ or so."

When morning break came, Chris was _already_ worn out; he hoped that last night had nothing to do with it.  
He frowned at seeing the others all congregating in the staff room. He dared to ask what was going on.

"Mrs Fisher's got an announcement to make." Janeece told him excitedly.

"Oh, _does_ she?" Why did he suddenly seem to know exactly what it was she was going to say? He immediately felt like wanting the _floor_ to swallow him up.  
Karen came in not too much later, and Chris caught her gaze; he looked at her as if to say _what are you playing at_? She ignored his looking daggers at her. "Now this is something only _one_ person in this room knows about, and it _was_ meant to be a surprise. But I couldn't _hold_ it any longer."

"I _bet_ you couldn't." He said very quietly, prompting Janeece to turn round and sharply look at him.

"_What_ is your problem?" She whispered to him angrily.  
Chris went to physically leave, when Karen's voice stopped him.  
"It's something that concerns me and _Chris_."  
He closed his eyes and swallowed hard. That time would have been as good as any for the floor to make him disappear. He didn't even move – just kept his back to everyone but had stopped dead in his tracks.

"Do you want to come over here, Chris?"  
Drawing in a very deep breath, he resignedly took his place right next to her, his stomach flipping over so many times.  
It certainly didn't help when he felt her arm wrap around his waist and pull him further up against her; a few of the others gasped at them having such a close, intimate proximity – one that definitely should be forbidden as they work so closely.  
"We're both _engaged_." Karen could tell Chris was not happy as he squirmed a little in her embrace.  
"I _knew_ it." Ruby whispered to Tom. "The way they were both looking at each other when we came in that day and saw them together."  
"Not _jealous_ are you, Ruby?" Tom teased quietly. "I think Chris is a bit too _young_ for you."  
Karen placed a finger under Chris's jaw to get him to look at her. "If you wouldn't mind doing the _honours_…" Her lips dangerously hovered close to his.  
Unenthusiastically, he pressed his lips to hers, earning a few wolf-whistles and cheers from the group.  
She wanted to go that little bit further, gently manipulating her tongue against his, allowing them to intertwine each other.  
It was an act that prompted a few raised eyebrows.  
Chris shakily pulled himself away, not wasting any time in exiting.

"You have _so_ got to teach me how to kiss like that!" Janeece gushed to Karen. "That was _really_ hot."

"Chris, wait." Tom chased after the younger male as he stormed off down the corridor. "Come on, mate…I'm not as fast as _you_."  
Chris furiously punched the corridor wall, almost sure he hurt his wrist from doing something like that. He _never_ lashed out unless he was pushed to his limit. And rather than hit _Karen_…he _had_ to take his repressed anger out on something, even though he couldn't hold it for very long. "I _told_ her not to tell anyone."  
Tom caught up with him as he dazedly hovered by one of the windows. "Come on, let's go somewhere for you to calm down."

Chris was taken to the toilets, and he perched himself on the low windowsill, still in a daze.  
"How are you holding up there, kid?" Tom looked over at him carefully.  
"We were supposed to keep it _secret_…" His voice came out pale and thin. "What possessed her to _do_ that? Which part of _secret_ does she not understand?"  
The older male sat next to him and took him into a friendly embrace. "She's left you pretty hurt, hasn't she?"  
He felt _unbelievably_ weighed down from shock mixed with anger; he gave in to the embrace, nestling his head on his shoulder.  
Tom didn't know how to make Chris feel any better; he rubbed him up and down his back, feeling him shudder against him. "It's ok, mate…if you want to let it out, you can."  
"I'm not going to _cry_." His voice came out muffled from the older male's shirt. He may be one of the youngest, but he was _not_ as weak as some like to make him out to have been. "What do you _take_ me for?"  
"Maybe you should take the rest of the day off…sleep this off."  
"I'm not going _anywhere_." He sniffled. "Not if I still have _sets_."  
"Ok, then you stay here and try to relax…be more sedentary if you don't feel like doing anything manual."  
"Tom, I don't wanna be seen as a _weakling_." Chris pulled himself away. "But at the same time, I don't think I wanna be in the same _building_ as her, let alone the same _room_."  
Tom spun him round as he went to leave, placing his hands on his shoulders. "You're not thinking straight. Go home and get some sleep. Things might become clearer tomorrow."

"I'm thinking clearly _now_."  
"No, Chris, you're _not_. You're _angry_ and you're _worked up_." Both of which were _unlike_ him to express – but when something _did_ anger him, it was quite _concentrated_. "Listen to me, I'm your mate. This is exhausting you and I doubt you'll be up to working anymore for now. If I let you carry on like this for the rest of the day, you'll burn yourself out. Do as I say…get some rest."  
Chris drew in a deep breath. "She'll still be here tomorrow…"  
"Don't worry about Karen, ok? Try and let this one go."  
"_Let it go_?"

Tom walked the younger male to his car. "Now are you going to be ok to drive or do you want me to take you back to your place?"  
He felt a small headache start. He put it down to the resultant anger. "Should be fine."  
He nodded, a little unsure. Although, Chris didn't really live that far away. A few turns here and there and he was there. "Make sure you go straight to bed and get some sleep…ok?"


	62. Chapter 62

"I take it Chris isn't in?" Karen put to Tom the next morning; the two of them were alone together.  
He shook his head. "The kid was in too much of a state. I told him to sleep it off."  
She smiled softly at Chris's disapproving response. It wasn't as though he found it _repulsive_, but she broke her promise to him, and that was something he wasn't going to let go _just like that_. "He'll come round."  
"Well, you _do_ love each other." Tom put to her perkily. "And as I've said before, he doesn't hold grudges with anyone – unless he has a real reason to. And why would he hold a grudge with someone he's _in love with_?"  
Karen screwed up another piece of paper into a ball and chucked it behind her. "This is _never_ going to get done at this rate."  
"Why, what are you trying to do?"  
She gazed up at him resignedly. "Trying to get something planned for Valentine's Day – maybe a party or something for the school."  
Tom smiled a little. "Well, I guess that's a bit _hard_ for you if you don't have a certain person around for a little _inspiration_."  
She found his comment funny. Chris would've done _more_ than inspire her. Naughty, sexual images came to her mind but she shoved them to the back of it again. "I don't think any of those ideas would've been particularly _acceptable_."  
"Oh…more 18-rated, are they?"  
"_X-_rated, more like."  
His smile turned into a smirk. "I can help you, if you're stuck."

The next morning.  
Chris didn't think he felt well enough to come back to work.

He got in through to the office, coming across Janeece who peeked over her monitor at him. He was aware of her spying on him and he did not like it.  
His eyes inadvertently flitted to the poster on the wall, and it was then that he turned to her. "What's all this about?"  
"Oh, that's all Mrs Fisher's idea." Janeece piped up. "Might have something to do with _you_ two lovebirds."  
Not particularly happy at being labelled a _lovebird_, he came closer to where she was. "Are these up _all over the place_?" He sounded almost horror-struck.  
She nodded enthusiastically. "It'd be nice to see _you two_ on the floor."  
Chris thought about going down to his room. "Yeah, I bet it _would_ be."

He was _livid _when he came across another poster, which was stuck onto one of his windows; he tore it down, unlocked his door and slammed it behind him – not wanting to see any more.

Tom came to see Chris partway through his later morning set; the younger male peered up from what he was writing, as he was perched behind his desk.  
"You want a word with me?"  
He nodded slowly. "If…I'm not interrupting anything important with your guys…"  
"No, not at all." Chris gave one last peek at his lot, before disappearing out of the room with Tom.  
"Are you sure this is ok, mate? If what you were doing with them was _timed_…"  
He gazed at him steadily. "No…they were only doing a mock paper." He could tell he was a little secretive about something. "Something wrong?"  
The older male placed a hand on his shoulder. "Just making sure you're feeling better after yesterday."  
"I'm better than I _was_." He admitted slowly.  
"Good." Tom smiled softly. "Are you going to the…"  
Chris knew _exactly_ what he was talking about. "Why would I wanna go to it if I pulled the poster down?"  
He was taken aback at his matter-of-fact attitude. Well, at least he was _honest_. "Chris, Karen really wants to settle this with you."  
"There's _nothing_ to settle." He said bluntly, as he went to go in; he felt a tug on his arm, stopping him from going.  
"Not even for a few _minutes_?" Tom watched his gaze flit to the floor. "Come on, she loves you to bits. She's really sorry."  
"It's not because I don't love her though, Tom…" Chris gazed back up at him. "It's because I don't _trust_ her."  
"But you guys are _engaged_."  
He nodded slowly. "But until I can _trust_ her enough, it's not going to go as _far_ as that."  
"Chris, please…" Tom's eyes gazed at him more earnestly. "Come out for a few minutes."  
"I-I'll think about it." In Chris's case, that often meant _no_. He positioned himself back behind his desk heavily, only for the older male to drop something onto his desk. It was an envelope. "What's that?"  
"It's a peace offering, mate." He told him softly. "Open it and see."

Resignedly, he tore open the envelope and pulled out the card that happened to be inside it.  
"Read it then."  
He skimmed his eyes over the words Karen had written, and tossed the card to one side. If he wasn't feeling as awful as he did, he would've been more _appreciative_, but he didn't feel like playing along with the love games being dealt to him.  
Tom made to go. "I'll tell her you said thank you." And he wasn't being sarcastic – he understood that he _still_ needed time to heal.  
As soon as he left, a few of Chris's set peered up at him and wolf-whistled at him; that _infuriated_ him, but not before a small red blush appeared at his cheeks. Nervously, he cast his gaze back down to what he was writing, trying to ignore the whistling but finding it hopeless. "Stop that _now_."  
A few of them stopped, but some carried on.  
"I said _stop it_." He sharply stood up behind his desk, startling them into a stunned silence.  
Mildly happy that the playful taunting had stopped, he settled back down and went back to what he was writing.

Karen peered up to see Tom come back in. "How did he take it?"  
"Didn't go _quite_ to plan."  
She smiled softly. "Thought it wouldn't work the way I _desired_ it to."  
"Still think he'll come round to the idea of staying out with us for a few minutes?"  
"He will." Her smile became sultrier. "He wouldn't say no."


	63. Chapter 63

Bex didn't feel entirely comfortable.

She lay awake in bed, staring up at the ceiling, which she could just about make out from the dimness that flooded her room.

"Still awake, Bex?" A nurse came into the room, noticing her eyes were still wide open.  
She nodded faintly.

"Ok…well, I can give you something for that." She came closer to her, taking out a small, thin syringe. "This will help you to sleep."  
"I don't want any more needles." She mumbled faintly. To be fair to her, she was fed up of having her arm being peppered with needles. She was sure it had gone numb from the number of times she'd had sedatives put into her.  
"I can give you some tablets to take…if that's any better for you."  
Bex weakly shook her head. "I want Chris."

"Chris isn't here, though, sweetheart." The nurse told her softly. "I can get him to come here tomorrow, but you won't be any good to him tired."  
She blankly turned to look at her.  
"I'll give you a stronger sedative, ok? It'll be the last one you have, I promise."  
"No…"  
"Yes, it'll be the last one you have, and it won't hurt."  
Bex turned her gaze back to the window, tears rolling down her cheeks. She couldn't put up with staying there anymore.  
She wanted to get out.

Chris was _sure_ he heard knocking on his flat door.  
He frowned. Surely they would need to have been let in before coming anywhere near his floor.  
Cagily, he answered the door, seeing Bex stumble into through the entrance. He was _shocked_. "H-how did you _get_ here?"  
"I walked, how else?" She put to him, sounding almost out of breath. She also looked tired.  
"Bex, that's so _silly_ of you." He let her in, and shutting the door behind him, bent down to make sure she was ok. "You're in _no_ state to be doing things like that."  
"I missed you."  
Chris softly glided his fingertips through her wet hair. "And out in the rain as well…"  
Bex relaxed from his soft touch.

"Hate to say this, but you look like a little drowned rat." He teased slightly.

"I _feel_ it as well."  
"You wanna get yourself sorted?" He suggested. "Can't have you sleeping with _wet hair_, can we?"  
She perked up a little. "Y-you're letting me _stay_ the night?"  
He smiled softly. "You can stay for however long you want, you don't have to ask."

It wasn't really that late by the time Bex had sorted herself out; Chris towel-dried her hair for her and wrapped her up in a thick blanket to protect her modesty, making sure it was long enough.  
"Feel better now?" He asked her.  
She nodded, smiling a little more easily. "I'm so glad I'm with _you_."  
"What made you wanna escape?"  
Bex noticed he sat a little closer to her, but it didn't put her off. They didn't have to be formal with each other. "I felt _alone_, I guess. I was around people I barely knew."  
"Yeah, but you _do_ get that in places like that. There are other people in there that feel exactly the same as you. Don't feel like you're the only person in the world with this, Bex, because you're not." Chris positioned himself right next to her. "Was that what put you off? If so, I can take you back – maybe explain to the staff there about how you feel about it."  
She shook her head dimly. "It was the same thing every day, though…without fail."  
"What, you mean going to bed the same time every night, having lights out…that sort of thing?"  
"More the case of what they _did_ every night if you were still awake."

"Why, what did they do?" Chris softly reached over and folded a long strand of blonde hair back behind her ear again. "If you don't wanna say…then don't."  
"They would put you to sleep if you were caught still awake."

He raised an eyebrow. "They're _that_ strict on people sleeping, are they?"

Bex closed her eyes and nodded. "I'm pretty sure my arm's close to losing all feeling in it, because of it being repetitively stabbed with needles."  
He gazed over at her arm, not really noticing anything. "Still looks perfect." He gently slid his index finger up along it, checking its evenness but silently causing shocks to go through her at his touch. "Still feels it."  
She flitted her gaze into his bright blue eyes, which fixed onto hers tenderly.  
"On a more _serious_ note, though, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't try to hurt you with things like that." Chris coyly shifted his gaze away. "It's not always a good thing to have to be subjected to those _either_, as you could end up being dependent on them."  
She drew in a deep breath. "So tomorrow…you'll take me back up there?"  
"Not if you don't want to."  
Bex lowered an eyebrow at him. "B-but you said…"  
"What's more important – doing something _you_ wanna do or doing something _they_ want you to?" He took hold of her hands. "I'm not forcing you to go back, because it's clear to me you don't want to. You gave it a shot and it didn't work. That doesn't mean to say you shouldn't try anything else in order to help yourself."  
"I thought I was doing the right thing by going there."  
He shook his head slowly. "Even _I_ thought going to a place like that was a bit extreme." He smiled softly. "Especially since they would drug you at any given opportunity."  
"So what now?" Bex asked Chris.  
"For now you should stay here, ok? Get some sleep – because you don't look as though you've _had_ any." He stroked her over her wrists. "And for however long it takes, we'll think up something else…I wanna _help_ you."  
"W-what about my mum?"  
He looked away slowly. "That's something I haven't yet _thought_ of, Bex. But I can't not help – I seem to be the only one aware of what you're going through."

She nodded dimly.

"Your eyelids feeling heavy yet?"  
"A bit."

He helped her up. "Bedtime for you then."


	64. Chapter 64

Bex laid down in amongst the thick blankets Chris had given to her.  
"Is this ok for you?"  
She nodded. "Should be comfortable enough for me to sleep."  
He smirked playfully. "Sorry it's nothing entirely _classy_."  
"I don't mind, honestly." She cast her gaze towards the window, noticing how low the moon had gotten in the sky. A full moon as well, at that.  
"Not missing that place, are you?"  
"I don't think so…" She turned her gaze back to Chris, as he carefully brushed a stray tear away with his fingertip.  
"Then what's wrong?" He knelt down on the floor next to her, as she sat up; he placed a hand on her shoulder, his bright eyes probing her anxious expression. He didn't want her to worry about anything, especially before going to sleep. "You want me to stay with you for a bit?"  
Bex nodded dimly. "I-I don't know why I can't relax."  
"It's ok, don't worry about it." He squeezed her shoulder supportively. "You're probably just getting used to having to sleep _naturally_. It's a bit of an extreme to switch to, first sedatives and now none at all."

She peered down at the blankets dimly.

"Is that all that's bothering you?"  
She swallowed hard. "You're not going to leave me like this, are you?"  
"No." Chris kept his tender gaze on her. "I won't _ever_ leave you in this state. I'm here for you now, ok?"

"Ok…"  
He looked over at the time. "It's not exactly late…you wanna stay up for a little longer? We can always stay in here if you feel like it."  
"And do what?"  
"I don't know." He pulled Bex closer up against his body, feeling her relax as she felt his firm arm wrap around her back and hold her quite close.  
"I feel so empty."  
He sharply gazed down at her. "Y-you mean to say you haven't _eaten_ at all?" When she nodded dimly, he placed his hands on her shoulders. "It's not too late for me to get you anything, if you want."  
"Like what?"  
"I can go out and get you something…depending on how _hungry_ you are."  
She felt her stomach rumble at the thought of food.  
"I mean do you feel empty enough for a _takeout_?" Chris got his keys out ready, keeping his eyes fixed on her. "There are a few places not far from here I can go to…"  
"I don't want to bother you by doing that for me."  
"You're _not_. But I certainly can't have you going without anything, else you won't ever feel any better, maybe not as quickly anyway."  
Bex nodded slowly. "O-ok…"  
He smiled softly. "Ok, good…stay there and relax."

Once that had been sorted, Chris got rid of the empty plastic containers. "You're good at giving your _mum_ a run for her money."  
"Why, does _she_ like Chinese takeouts as well?"  
"Well…by saying she _likes_ them is putting it mildly." He settled back down next to her. "Has that empty feeling gone now?"

"Pretty much." Bex felt his arms wrap around her protectively. "Thanks for that."  
"Not a problem."

They were quiet for a few minutes, before Bex broke the silence. "Can you stay here till I fall asleep?"  
Chris pulled her more up against him. An idea had come to him, but what would _her_ perception of it end up being? He didn't want to _hurt_ her, but at the same time he didn't want her to feel alone anymore. "If you don't wanna be alone tonight…"  
She gazed up at him curiously.  
"Y-you can always stay with _me_." He felt _so_ shy and embarrassed at asking her something that _normal couples_ would do; he would've had no hesitation if it were _Karen_ he was asking and not her _daughter_. "You don't have to though."  
"You're asking me to sleep with you?" Not within _sexual_ terms, of course. She didn't sound disgusted with him, but she was surprised that he'd offered her to engage in doing something _potentially_ sexual.  
He nodded slowly.  
Bex trusted Chris enough to know that he wouldn't hurt her or do anything that he shouldn't. "O-ok…"

Unsure of how to go about this, he started to strip, his gaze resting on her in a friendly sort of way – there was no lewdness coming into it; he didn't _completely _undress, deciding to leave his boxers on.  
She was still wearing her long top, which just about covered the bits he was _forbidden_ to have seen.  
They both got into bed together, as Chris switched the lights off.  
"You feel ok?"  
Bex nodded shakily. "It does feel a bit weird."  
"Why?"  
"I guess because I'm with _you_."  
"I won't try anything on with you, Bex…I just feel that you'd be better off within closer contact. I'm not going to ask you to _have sex_, if that's what you're worried about." He softly stroked her through her blonde hair. "You've been through _enough_."  
She closed her eyes when he pulled her into a protective embrace; their bodies were right up against each other.  
She nuzzled her nose against Chris's shoulder, taking in a temptingly sweet scent on his skin; he kept the stroking going as she wrapped her arms around his slender waist. He felt so warm and soft, like a giant teddy bear.  
"I just want you safe."  
"Mum seemed to think you took me up to that place against my will." Bex noticed he gazed down at her quizzically.  
"She's gotten that wrong though. You _know_ that." He made sure he didn't accidentally wrap his legs around hers, thus bringing their hips together. Sexual contact was something he was sure she didn't want. "You _did_ tell her that, didn't you?"  
"Yeah, of course I did…"  
"That's surprised me, in a way."  
Bex felt Chris's stroking through her hair slow down. "How so?"  
"She's making me out to be some bad person, isn't she?"  
"No." She sensed a slight offence in his voice. "No, Chris…don't think that. She loves you, very much. She's _said_ so."  
He shook his head. "I could never do anything like that."  
"You _didn't_ force me to go. I know you didn't." Releasing all inhibitions of touch, she placed her fingertips under Chris's jaw to get him to look at her. "I trust you."  
The young male was taken aback at her touching him the way she was; he didn't dislike it by any means, but it felt _wrong_ to him. He was sure she was much younger than she'd led him on to believe, but most of his doubt was wiped out by her touch. "I can't do this with you."  
Bex stroked him under his jaw softly, caressing the dewy flesh under her fingertips. "I take it that it doesn't feel right?"  
"I'll end up _hurting_ you."  
"Ssh…no, you won't."  
"Think about it, Bex…after everything you've been through, is this something you _want_?"  
"I think this _is_ what I want…" She found herself being drawn into his bright blue eyes – they looked so tempting in the darkness, finding them easily due to their vibrancy. "I think I want you, Chris."  
"Even though I'm a lot _older_ than you?"  
"You're not that old compared to me." She drew him closer to her, lips hovering dangerously close to each other. "You've already rejected me once…if you really meant it, you wouldn't be so close to me again."  
"Y-you certainly don't talk like a sixteen year-old…" Chris almost gasped out as a finger traced the line of his spine downward.  
"That's because I'm _not_." Bex felt him give in to her touch as she said that. "So do you have any objections to this?"


	65. Chapter 65

The next morning.

Bex awoke, as the soft sunlight from outside flooded the room in a soft glow. It shimmered along her bare skin, and soaking up the lustre, rolled onto her back and made to twist her way into Chris's side. He was not there.  
"Not sure if you felt like eating anything…" A familiar voice came from the door.  
She peered up to see him gazing over at her empathetically. "I don't usually. But I don't want to put you out."  
"No, it's not a problem."

Once Bex was sufficiently fed, Chris took the plate from her. "You certainly felt like that."  
"Did you like what we did last night?"  
He took on a steadier gaze. "It's not like I didn't want it. But I still love your mum, Bex."

She nodded. "I understand, Chris."  
"I mean what we did was…it was amazing. But I can only love _one_ person and so to speak _be_ with them…that person isn't you and I'm sorry."  
"You still have feelings for my mum, and that's fine." She sat on the edge of the bed, prompting him to come closer to her. "I'm probably going to cause all sorts of problems for you if I stay."

"No…that's not true." Chris wrapped an arm around her softly. "I want you to stay, where else are you going to go? I don't wanna throw you back into that place if you didn't like it there."

"Back home." Bex's voice tailed off.

"I don't think you're going to escape your mum's suspicions about why you decided to go just like that. She's going to wanna know _everything_, Bex."  
She shrugged. "I just won't go into all the details."  
"But that's the problem. She's going to want you to." He got her to look into her eyes softly. "I'm not saying you're making anything up, but she's going to wanna know the full extent of what happened and why you did it…because she _loves _you."  
"B-but _you_ love me and you didn't want to know everything."  
"That's because I'm not the right person to really talk to about things like that. I've said that I'll be there for you – for _both_ of you – and I'm not moving away from that. But _sexual_ stuff…is something you should only really talk about with someone _closer_ than me – preferably the same gender as well."  
Bex nodded dimly. "I just felt _better_ with you."  
Chris pulled her up against him. "There's nothing stopping you from staying here till you feel better. There'll come a time when you'll feel more ready to tell your mum everything – and I mean _everything_. But till now, you're better off staying here to recharge."  
She was aware of his mobile vibrating on the nightstand, and she tugged on his shirtsleeve. "You've got a message."  
He answered the call, startled but not pleasantly surprised by who was on the other end of the line.  
Bex raised an eyebrow at the expression on his face. She'd _never_ seen him look like that before. He looked…_petrified._  
There was an iciness in his voice as he persisted in ending the call, not getting anywhere when he was dealt empty threats on the other end of the line.

"I want you to stop calling me." And with that, he hung up.

"Ex-girlfriend, was it?"

Chris pensively put his mobile in his back pocket. "Would've been _nicer_ if it was." He sat back over with her. "I've been getting a lot of strange calls lately…don't know why."  
"As long as it was someone you didn't know, then there's no problem."

Should he have said something or not about who it was? Not that she was likely to have understood. He looked over at the time. "Maybe I should go to work…as long as you'll be ok staying here on your own."  
"And do what?"  
"Well…" He leant further forward, twirling his fingers through her blonde hair. "Preferably to get some more _sleep_, young lady."  
Bex smiled at him more knowingly.  
"Unless…you wanna come in." He sounded almost shocked. "Your mum would wanna know why you're back in though."  
She shrugged. "I'll just keep out of her way."  
"Or tell her the truth."  
She looked away and nodded. "I guess you're right…telling the truth is probably the better option."  
"Well it's not the _easiest_ option, but yeah, definitely _better_." Chris's eyes sparkled a little in the sunlight seductively. The blueness in them softened into an exotic emerald-azure colour. "When you're ready, we'll make tracks."  
Bex glanced over at the time. "But it's early."

He smiled perkily. "I _like_ being early."  
She lowered an eyebrow at him. "You sure you're not one of those…workaholic type people?"  
"Absolutely not." He got his keys out ready. "But I prefer to be _early_ than _late_."

Karen had come to see Chris some time later.  
He peered up at her, a little nervous as she came in through the door. He had no sets – it was just him _on his own_.  
"How are you feeling?" She didn't really know what to say to him after the way he reacted when she announced their engagement in front of everyone. Although really, who could blame him for the way he responded?  
"Better, I guess." He kept his pen poised, hovering over the paper he was marking. He cast his gaze to a small speck on it, finding it more comfortable to look at than her slightly concerned eyes. "Karen, I…"

"I'm sorry." Karen got there before him, cutting his sentence off. "I didn't mean to open my mouth about us being engaged. I was just so excited about it all happening."  
Chris nodded slightly. "Ok…"  
"But everyone's happy for us, though, aren't they?"

"Just as well, isn't it?" He didn't move his gaze away. He was sure that he could cut the atmosphere in the room with a knife. "You're certainly starting to make me question my _trust_ in you."  
"I know, Chris, and I don't blame you for reacting and feeling the way you did. But if you can _forgive_ me…"  
"I do forgive you, Karen, but that's only because I _love_ you." Chris flitted his gaze to her. "That's what couples do."  
"If there's any way I can make it up to you…"  
He shook his head. "I don't think there is."  
Karen seemed crestfallen.  
He smiled a little. "But I guess there's no harm in me coming out tonight for the celebrations. After all, you _did_ put it together after I…you know…quickly _exited_ like that."  
"Really?" She said breathlessly. "Y-you'll _come_?"  
Chris's smile grew. "You can hold me to that, if you want."


	66. Chapter 66

"I take it Tom told you about my…_outburst_."  
Karen smirked at Chris, as he handed her a drink. "That one's news to me."

He positioned himself against the radiator, feeling her eyes rove up and down his body, liking what they saw. "I guess it doesn't matter. It happened after you told the guys about us getting engaged and we're pretty much all sorted out now."  
"You don't seem like the type to have _outbursts_, Chris." She put to him, mildly amused at the thought of him storming off down the corridors. "_You – _having little temper tantrums?" Her smirk grew.  
"I know, I know…it's not in my nature." He watched her come over to him, and softly cup his face with one hand.  
"I know what _is_ in your nature though, Mr Mead…" Her voice came over sultry and seductive, as she caressed the fair skin under her touch.  
"Oh, and would you _care_ to enlighten me about what that is?" Chris mildly taunted.

Karen's smile grew more seductive. "You being _naughty_."  
"I'm a _good_ boy." He put to her chirpily.  
"When you _want_ to be." She licked his lower lip softly, causing his cheeks to redden a little. "Maybe I should put that to the test, then, shouldn't I?"  
"N-not when I have to _work_."  
"Hmm…" She backed away a little, still allowing a small bit of contact between their bodies. "Ok, I've got another proposition for you."  
He tilted his head attentively.

"Tonight – at the back of the stage." She could still taste a slight sweetness on her tongue. That was why she found the young male so _addictive_.  
Chris went to say something, when Karen softly placed a finger to his lips to silence him.  
"No questions. No talking. Just _you_ and _me_."

That night.  
Karen waited nervously to receive the first wave of guests as they came in; she'd noticed time had gotten on and there was _still_ no sign of Chris.  
Anxious and fraught with worry, she decided to wait for him where she said she would – behind the stage.  
"Y-you look amazing."  
She turned round in the direction of the familiar voice, finding the young male perched just behind the curtain, facing her. "So do you."  
"Guess I caught you in the act, didn't I?" He smirked cheekily.  
"What do you mean?" She couldn't think up a witty remark by the time he'd come up to her and snaked his arms around her waist.  
"Well you _did_ tell me to meet you here, and here I am." He hovered his lips dangerously close to hers, their noses just about brushing against each other playfully. "Although I can't fault you for getting on with your _job_…"  
Karen smiled a little, as their lips connected perfectly.  
"Because you're _ever_ so good at doing that." Chris whispered in a doting sort of way; he softly brushed an index finger against the curve between her neck and jaw area, drawing her gaze upwards. "As well as _other_ things…"  
She felt her breath get taken away, as his finger moved downward, lightly caressing the glowing flesh at her collarbone area. He found that area so seductive and sexy, especially as that part of her body was _uncovered_. She closed her eyes and gasped softly as he lowered himself and covered her there with butterfly-soft kisses.  
"You sound almost _impressed_, Mrs Fisher." He put to her teasingly, his bright blue eyes tenderly fixing themselves onto hers. "Or might you need more convincing?"  
Karen felt icy shivers go to her spine from hearing Chris _taunting_ her the way he was; his deep Mancunian accent sounded _naughtier_ and _sexier_ when he talked like that and it made her flush at her cheeks.  
"I'll take it that you need more convincing." He carefully slid the top part of her black, glittery dress away from the glowing skin, causing her to feel something that she thought she'd _never_ feel.  
He submissively closed his mouth around one, gradually swollen nub, sealing his lips around its surrounding area and nudging it further up with his tongue.  
She cradled his head against her, tangling her fingers in the long parts of his dark hair, as he wrapped his arms around her waist.  
Chris withdrew from Karen, making her perfectly presentable again, although he couldn't do much about the excitable glow at her cheeks. "Have I convinced you enough?"  
Without a word, she drove him up against the wall, wrapping a leg around his waist and pushing herself into him.  
He shuddered a little from what she was doing, but it wasn't as though he didn't like it.  
Nervously, he placed a hand on her leg, taking in the silky flesh under his touch and drawing it further up to her thigh. "This how you want it?" His nose softly brushed itself against hers playfully again.  
Karen nodded slowly, noticing Chris's eyes sparkled with pleasure; he wanted to _please_ her – to take her to places she'd never _been_ to before and then never go back again. She noticed he was shivering with excitement, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Do me _now_, Chris." She told him huskily. "And do me _hard_."  
He dutifully obliged, switching positions with her and bringing her up against the wall. She slammed her hips against his as she repositioned her leg around his waist, and the pair began to kiss quite friskily.

Chris happily closed his lips on Karen's lower lip, biting it softly at first, and then deciding to lick at it, lapping away the minor pain from the biting. The alternating feelings were overtaking her, causing her to whimper softly against him.  
"I-I've had enough…" She moved her hands to his tie, threatening to loosen it and take it off him.  
"Oh, don't tell me I've _beaten_ you?" He teased, feeling a slight satisfaction in tantalizing her the way he did. "I haven't started yet…"  
She closed her eyes as his hand proceeded to move itself further up her thigh and under the sheer fabric of the glittery dress.  
"Now you've got _very_ nice legs…" _for an older woman_, he thought to himself, "but I can't see them very well with this _sexy_ dress on."  
"Y-you want me to take this off?"  
Chris smiled naughtily. "If you wouldn't mind…" There was something _equally_ as attractive about seeing Karen with little on except a pair of high-heels. It made her legs all the _more _tempting.  
She wasted no time in moving her hands to the top of her dress, to pull it down and off – but before she did, she noticed the curtain moving slightly.  
She stopped.  
"What's wrong?" He asked her. "Not having second thoughts, are you?"  
"I think there's someone spying on us."  
It was his turn to notice the curtain moving a little.  
"There anywhere else we can go?"  
Chris thought long and hard, before grabbing her arm. "Come with me."  
"Where are we going?"  
He smirked cheekily. "_You'll _see."


	67. Chapter 67

Both naked bodies moved together in perfect rhythm; the sweat made them stick together slightly as they alternated positions by rolling about on the office floor.  
"Well…this is probably your _naughtiest _idea to date, Mr Mead." Karen deduced, sliding an index finger down along Chris's spine.  
"So _now_ you're impressed." His eyes sparkled cheekily. "You're a hard woman to please, Karen."  
"Mmm…well, you managed to please me _no problem_ tonight." She brought him down onto the floor on his back, flicking her tongue into the small recess of his navel. His hips bucked with pleasure at the feeling.  
He closed his eyes and softly gasped as she moved further up, trailing her tongue along his flat stomach and to his chest.  
"You taste so good." Karen savoured the sweet taste melting into her mouth. "Good enough to _eat_."  
Chris twisted about on the floor, wrapping his legs around her and allowing them to squeeze her around her waist.  
"Maybe I should make this all better for you."

"_That_ felt amazing."  
Karen smiled softly, watching the young male retrieve his clothes that had been removed from him and impulsively tossed all over the floor amid their passionate lovemaking. "Glad I could be of service."  
Chris flitted his gaze away in a thoughtful sort of way.  
She noticed his pensiveness. "You seem far away."  
He snapped to. "You should try and get Jess to come back, you know. Get her bloke to look after her little one."  
"Try telling that to _her_, you might have more luck."  
"It's not helping that she's out of school, though."  
Karen felt a small twinge of pain in her pelvic area, which didn't go unnoticed.  
"Everything ok?"  
She nodded unsurely. "I've been getting a few aches and pains around there, but nothing serious."  
"Karen, the baby isn't even _due_ yet." Chris told her steadily. "It could mean a problem."  
She shook her head.  
"Well I know for a fact that it wasn't due to something _I've_ done." He placed his hands on his hips. "Go to a doctor…have it checked out."  
Karen got dressed, shaking a little from pain and the shock of it aching when it did.  
"You could end up _sick_."  
"It's nothing."

Karen wished she didn't ignore Chris's words of advice.  
She barely moved out of bed that morning, whimpering from pain as the contractions became more concentrated in her abdomen and pelvic area.  
Tiredly, she started to key in his number for him to come over.  
She needed his help.  
Chris picked up straight away. "What's wrong?"  
"I-I won't be in…"

He sat up in his chair, immediately shocked at how sick she sounded. "Has the pain gotten worse?"  
"I think so." Karen sounded close to throwing up. "I need you _here_."

"Right now?" He looked over at the time. "I'm halfway through a _set_, though." Although they weren't doing anything particularly _vocational_.  
"Chris, _please_…I don't know who else could help me."  
"I-if not a doctor, then Jess, if she's there."  
"I need _you_."

Chris got to Karen's as quickly as he could; he let himself in with the set of keys she gave to him, managing to find her no problem in the bathroom.  
He saw her sitting against the bathroom wall, doubling over and holding her stomach. He swiftly bent down to her level and placed a hand on her stomach area. "It needs to come out."  
"I-I won't let it…" She gasped out, knowing full well what would happen.  
"Karen, _I_ don't want this to happen any more than _you_ and I'm sorry. But if you don't do this, you'll end up sicker. You can't think any more about this baby, it's not going to make it. You have to think about _yourself_ now." He encouraged her, rubbing her slightly around her stomach to relax her a little. "Try to relax, I wanna _help_ you."  
"W-why is it _happening_ though?" Karen wept out.  
"I don't know, but you can't think about that right now. You _have_ to deliver it."  
She felt the tears roll down her cheeks, and Chris softly wiped them away with his fingertips. "I-I can't…"  
"Yes, you _can_. You trust me, right?" His bright blue eyes placidly fixed on her darker, more anxious ones. "I won't let anything happen to you. I'll look after you."  
He got her to lie down on the bathroom floor and swept her bangs back. "It's going to hurt but don't worry. If you relax it'll help."

"B-but Chris…"

"Ssh…I'm here now."

Ten minutes passed, and Karen felt her hips ache; Chris carefully covered her lower abdominal area with a towel, so as not to frighten her into seeing something she didn't want to see.  
"Good girl." He slid his fingertips through her bangs and kept one hand on her stomach. "You're doing well."  
She let out a pain-stricken whimper, and a large release passed through her muscles.  
He gazed down, noticing a small trail of blood leading out from under the towel, and swallowed hard.  
"I-is it out?"  
"Not yet." He reassuringly stroked her through her bangs some more. "You've got a little way to go."  
All of a sudden, Karen let out a heart-rending scream, and her body hurt all over; she felt sick to her stomach, almost as though her lower body was being pulled apart from the rest of her.

"It's ok, you're doing really well." Chris told her supportively. "Push a little more…it's almost out."  
She weakly gave one more push, and tried to get her breath back as he quickly wrapped up the small mass in another towel. He didn't want her to see. "C-can I see it?"  
He shook his head slowly. "It's better if you don't." If he allowed that to happen, Karen would end up bonding, or trying to bond, with a _dead baby_ – one that wasn't viable. And he didn't want that to happen. He'd heard of cases like that – he didn't want her to turn into one of those. "It would've been a _girl_, though." He could just about make out most of the baby's form, even though it was pretty much covered in blood and fluids.  
She felt tears reach her eyes.  
"I'm sorry."


	68. Chapter 68

Karen sat, shivering, on the sofa as Chris came back over to her and handed her a glass of water. She took it thankfully.  
He didn't know how he should be acting around her – he'd never been in such a traumatic situation. Although, to be fair, he'd never been in a traumatic situation that involved an eighteen-year old girl who was sexually assaulted and he seemed to know how to take care of _that_.  
He was happy just for the place to remain quiet so she could settle more. Once he was sure she'd settled enough, he turned to gaze at her carefully. "You want me to go?"  
Karen shook her head, grabbing hold of Chris's wrist. "Please stay with me."  
He was worried at how she was taking it all in. He frowned a little as he felt her shudder. "What happened was not your fault."  
"Then why did it happen?"  
He flitted his gaze away, dropping it to the floor. He didn't seem sure. "I don't know, but please don't blame yourself for it."  
"W-what if it was because o-of what we _did_?"  
"I don't see it being that." He inched closer to her, trying to distract her gaze from the wall in front of them. The fact that she was reflecting the way she was didn't seem to be healthy. "Why don't you come out for a bit? You and I…like we used to."  
"Are you _out of your mind_?" Karen snapped at Chris, making him almost jump out of the sofa. "I'm still trying to get over a loss."  
"I know you are." He put to her quietly. "But sitting here and thinking about it isn't going to make it better."  
She shook her head dimly.  
"Karen, I'm not trying to sound unsympathetic because I know the way you're feeling. But you can't mope like this. It's not good for you."

"Don't you think I _know_ that?" She snapped at him again. "And don't you dare say for one minute you know how I feel. You're not the one who's had a baby inside you for I don't know how long."  
Chris raised an eyebrow at Karen shakily getting up; he knew she was in no fit state to be really doing anything by herself. He was right to be anxious as she dropped onto the floor by the lounge door.  
Without protest, he quickly went over to her and knelt down beside her. He was relieved to find that she didn't shake him off her when he placed his hands on her shoulders.  
"I don't think we should go through with getting married."  
He nodded slowly. "If that's what you want."  
"I love you very much…but with all this going on…"  
"It's ok, I understand." He pulled her closer to him. "Give that as much time as you feel you want. You're in shock."

She felt so helpless, as she found herself unable to move from her spot on the floor; Chris kept himself beside her, rubbing her in a reassuring way. He wasn't intending on leaving her like that.  
"Maybe you should go to bed." He said eventually. "Sleep some of the shock off."  
"It's not going to go away, though, is it?"  
He tilted his head slightly. "Well…no. Not straight away. But you can't exactly keep yourself awake the way you are."  
Karen couldn't protest, as he helped her up off the floor.  
"You feel ok to walk now?"  
She nodded dimly. "I feel so weak."  
He wrapped his arms around her as he accompanied her to her room and helped her to lie down on the bed. "You want me to stay till you go to sleep?"  
She nodded weakly. "Is that ok?"  
"Sure." He sat on the edge of the bed quite close to her, softly sweeping her bangs back away from her forehead. "I don't mind watching over you."

It took some time for Karen to go to sleep; Chris patiently kept beside her, noticing every now and again she closed her eyes, but without fully relaxing, opened them again. He slowly brushed an index finger over and along her eyelashes, drawing the eyelids downward in order to make them feel heavy.  
"Try and relax."  
Giving in to his touch, she drifted off to sleep and he pulled the blankets over her some more.  
He didn't realise _Jess_ was standing in the doorway.  
"What's going on? What's wrong with mum?" She wanted to know. "And why are _you_ here?" Her gaze turned into a scowl.  
Not really that surprised that she was there, Chris steadily gazed round at her. "If you didn't already know, your mum's slightly unwell."  
"Can't be down to you, surely?" She assumed icily.  
"If you were _really_ that worried for her, Jess, she miscarried her baby." His eyes turned slightly hard; they only ever did that when he came over defensive. "There are some people that aren't as lucky as you, as you have one."  
Jess folded her arms across her chest.  
"Why didn't you help her?"  
She rolled her eyes up at the ceiling. "I don't know. I guess I didn't know she was in any pain."  
Chris frowned at her answer. He didn't quite believe her. "She was in extreme _pain_. Don't tell me you didn't hear her."  
Jess went to leave. "Why should _you_ worry anyway? She's ok now."  
"No, she is _not_." He stopped her by placing his hand around her wrist. "She might not _ever_ get any better. Do you know how hard it is for someone to get over losing a baby?"  
She shrugged. "Well she should've thought of that before sleeping around with god knows who."  
"The person she slept with happens to be someone she _loves_." The harshness in his eyes became more apparent.  
Jess was startled at the severity of them. They'd darkened from anger, which shocked her. Although she had _never_ seen Chris get as in touch with his anger as that.  
"If you've been here all this time you should've helped her." He was through with rebuking her any further. "I can't believe you could do something so _thoughtless_."  
She flitted her gaze away anxiously. He was accusing her of being…_thoughtless_? How dare he! "It's _you_, isn't it?"  
Still partly annoyed, Chris gazed back down at her. Annoyance had clouded into confusion.

"She's been sleeping around with _you_."  
"So what if she _had_?" He decided not to care anymore about whether Jess had known by then or not. Heck, if the _staff_ all knew about them, why not throw the entire secrecy idea out of the window?  
"So you're not denying it." She drove him up against the wall, her eyes turning hard that time. "So how does she _feel_, Chris? I bet she doesn't feel as good as _me_ when _we_ both did it that time."  
He felt sick to his stomach at the memory of what they did together. "I've told you before…"  
"You've certainly got your _limits_, I'll give you that." She taunted callously. "Never thought you'd sink that low by getting with _her_. You get around a bit, _don't_ you?"  
"_Don't _push me." Chris pushed her off him. "And don't you _dare_ touch me like that again."  
Jess pulled away completely, done with winding him up enough – for that time.  
"You know what? I was actually going to get your mum to get you to come back to school…don't think I'll _bother_ now."  
"Good." She scowled. "Because I'm _not_."  
He went to leave, glaring at her icily. Although it was uncharacteristic of him to behave like that, it seemed like a natural thing for him to pull off. "That's one less thing for her to worry about then, _isn't _it?"


	69. Chapter 69

Still slightly shaken from shock and anger, Chris managed to get back to his; what he saw when he went to go to bed _shocked_ him.

Bex had positioned herself on the bed wearing nothing but her underwear.  
He swallowed hard, unable to take his eyes off her form in front of him – it was quite hard to ignore, as he didn't expect her to just…_be there_!  
"Where did you get to?" She sidled up to him, moving her hands to his tie to loosen it and take it off him when he didn't want her to and backed off a little.

"I-I had to see your mum."  
She looked a little worried. "Everything ok with her?"  
"Not really, no." Chris only withdrew again when Bex placed her hands on his small hips.  
"What's wrong?" She longed to take in that seductive sweet scent on his skin – it was something she couldn't get enough of. Of course, she knew deep down why he wasn't behaving the way she wanted him to.

"I don't feel like it."  
Bex resignedly got off the bed, and retreated into the mass of blankets she originally slept in.  
"Don't you remember anything from last time, Bex?" He really wished he could go to bed, close his eyes and forget everything that had gone on. Well, pretty much everything. "I don't _love_ you like that."  
"I know you don't. But…I don't know. I feel alone."  
Chris bent down beside her and softly flicked her long hair back from her eyes. "I understand the way you feel. But…acting like this won't make that stop."  
"I want the cut off feelings to go away. Doing things like this and what we did the other night seemed to have helped that."  
"But that was only because you were doing things to keep your mind off them." He twirled the long strands of blonde around his fingers. "The shock you've got is probably peaking and it's making you behave oddly."  
Bex looked away dimly. "Can't _you_ do anything to stop it?"  
"Well…" Chris smiled a little. "Sleeping with me isn't going to make it any better. But I'm guessing it'll pass with the right help."  
"W-what about tonight?" She shuddered a little. She knew she would have some trouble sleeping, especially if she was by herself.  
"There's nothing stopping you by staying in bed with me." He stated. "But that is _all_ that's going to happen, ok? No sex. No kissing. No naughty stuff."  
She nodded steadily. "Ok."

Once they'd settled down together, he felt her wrap her arms around his waist, pulling him flush against her. That didn't make him uncomfortable, but he was secretly waiting for her to slide her hips against his.  
That never happened.

"Did you see my mum at all when you were at work?" Bex asked him dimly.

"She wasn't in." Chris hadn't realised that she knew _very little_ about their situation.  
She gazed up at him anxiously, just about making him out in the dimness. "Was she not very well?"  
He swallowed hard. "No, she felt a bit sick."  
She frowned. She knew full well that her mum hardly _ever_ got sick. "She must've been poorly."  
"Why do you say that?"  
She shook her head. "She doesn't usually get sick. Whatever it was must've been nasty."  
He closed his eyes, unsure of how she would take the news that he'd inadvertently hid from her. "Bex, your mum wasn't sick…well, she _was_ eventually, but she was pregnant."  
"_What_?" Bex leant up slightly, as Chris moved his hand to her shoulder. "How so?"  
"What do you mean, how so? _I_ made her pregnant."  
She nodded slowly. She held nothing against either of them for that – Chris loved Karen enough to get her pregnant, and Karen obviously loved him enough to allow him to do that. "What happened? Did she have morning sickness?"  
He shook his head dimly. "She miscarried it."  
"God, I…" She noticed a tear slide out from the corner of his eye, and she softly wiped it away with a fingertip. "Chris, I'm so sorry…"

"_I_ should be the one who's sorry, Bex, you could've had another little _sister_."  
"The miscarriage isn't your fault. It's _neither_ yours or mum's fault." Bex was startled to see another tear glisten in the corner of his eye and she softly removed it. She could sense the way Chris felt towards her mum – he seemed absolutely remorseful for her to lose something they made between them. Something so delicate and weak – _gone_ just like that.  
He shakily drew in a deep breath.  
"Don't blame yourself for that." Bex reassured him through his pensive yet guilt-ridden torpor. She rubbed him down his back softly, hoping to stimulate him into pulling himself back of his daze.  
Chris moved himself onto his side, nestling further against her; she slid closer to him, as she kept the stroking going.  
"Heard anything more about that mystery caller?" Maybe switching to another topic might take him out of it.  
"The _what_ now?"  
Bex smiled slightly at his preoccupation. "That person who keeps calling you."  
"Oh. _Them_." A sick feeling settled in the pit of his stomach.  
She frowned at how anxious he sounded. "Someone you don't like very much?"  
"I _did_ like them. Till I realised what they were really _like_."  
She nodded, feeling him relax through her stroking.  
Chris softly closed his eyes, not wanting to talk about it any longer; the sheer worry of how he was supposed to handle _that_ was exhausting him.  
Bex understood the way he felt – he didn't have to talk about it anymore if he didn't want to. She had to respect his feelings.  
She felt him draw out a deep, prolonged sigh, before drifting off to sleep.  
The stroking got fainter and slower as she closely followed suit.

Bex was startled at what time it was.  
It wasn't even four in the morning, but she'd felt some movement against her.  
Chris aggressively rolled onto his back, pushing her a little away from him; he was unaware of what he was doing.  
She leant up slightly, feeling him try to twist himself out of her embrace as she tried to pull him out of the unpleasant dream – his eyelids batted erratically, almost as though he was stuck between both perceptions.  
The twisting turned to flailing, and he started to lash out at her with his legs; it was worrying when he did that, as he almost got her in the more vulnerable areas.  
"Chris, it's ok…" Bex desisted from touching him – god only knows what that could've done. But maybe…maybe touch was what he _wanted_.  
She slid her fingers through his bangs that had fallen askew, and surprisingly, he settled. It was a strange thing for her to have witnessed and seemed more than just a usual, run-of-the-mill dream.  
The young male's chest heaved heavily, as he relaxed against the bed; she'd taken his hand with hers, _anything_ to keep him grounded. His eyes slowly opened, and he found Bex peering down at him worriedly. "I-is it time to get up yet?"  
She shook her head, smiling softly. "It's still early."  
His eyelids felt heavy again. "Thought it was too dark to be anywhere near seven."  
She squeezed his hand. "How do you feel?"  
"W-what do you mean?" Like a shot, Chris sat up. "Have I been _sick_?"  
"No!" She sat up beside him. "No…you just had a bad dream."  
"Is _that_ what you call it?" He certainly felt worse than having just come out of a bad dream. His attentions then turned to _Bex_. "Did I _hurt_ you?"  
She smiled a little more. "You _almost_ kicked me a few times, but apart from that, no."  
"God…Bex, I'm so sorry." He swept a hand over his bangs. "I didn't mean for that to happen."  
"It's ok…" She reassured him, but she wanted to know more from him. "Do you get a lot of bad dreams like that?"  
"Hardly ever." Chris felt a small wave of nausea accumulate. "But I _never_ get them as bad or as intense as that."  
Bex realised he was shaking a little. For the first time ever, she was sure he was _scared_.  
He swallowed hard, forcing the nausea back down into the pit of his stomach. "I think someone's out to _get_ me."


	70. Chapter 70

Bex had grown worried at Chris's sudden behaviour; he couldn't relax after waking up and stayed up from the early hours of the morning till the time he had to get up to go to work.  
All he did was stay sitting up on the foot of the bed, stock-still and staring at the wall ahead of him.

When it was near enough time to go, Bex noticed that he hadn't moved from his spot.  
She sat next to him, not even prompting him to turn to face her when the mattress dipped a little. She could see very faint dark circles under his usually bright, perky eyes – that was a sign that worried her. "Do you think you should go to work today, Chris?"  
No answer.  
She carefully slipped his shirt onto him, as he gave up even contemplating resistance and simply allowed her to dress him. "Can't really do some of this without your help."  
Chris shuddered a little at the memory of what he dreamt of – usually, when he dreamt, he didn't make a point of remembering any of it. But the one he only just had, had petrified him. Maybe due to the fact it felt – and seemed – so real.  
"Come on, it was just a nasty dream." Bex knew _she_ could talk. Her mum used to flap at _her_ having nightmares or dreams of any kind. "Try and forget about it, ok?"  
"I _can't_." He dimly managed to say.  
"No one is out to get you." She softly stroked him through his bangs. And she thought _she_ had it bad with the flashbacks she got. "No one can hurt _you_, you're too nice."  
He drew in a shaky breath, feeling his ribs ache from the effort of doing so.

She rubbed him down his back. "Once we get in, I'll get you to mum's room. She might be able to help you."  
"B-Bex…" Chris started. "I don't wanna burden your mum with this."  
"She can _help_ you."

Chris was taken through to Karen's room, where Bex came in through the door and saw her sitting down behind her desk.  
"Oh, hi, love." She came from behind the desk, her eyes immediately fixed on Chris as he was helped to sit down. Her worry was obviously more towards _him_ because of how exhausted he looked. "Is everything ok?"  
"Chris is unwell."  
"Bex, I'm not…" His protest was cut short when Karen placed herself beside him and got him to look straight at her.

"He had a bad dream and he didn't go back to sleep." Bex positioned herself against the windowsill, watching her carefully cup his face with one hand and skim her thumb over the faint dark circle under his eye.  
"Go back home, Chris." She told him softly. "Get some sleep."  
He dimly shook his head. "I don't wanna go home."  
"You're tired, anyone can see that." Karen felt him shiver a little. "Come back when you feel better."

Chris knew that if he were to go home to go to bed, that meant that he would have to _sleep_. And if he were to _sleep_, then he was quite likely to have that _dream_ all over again – and he may not be so lucky to come back out of it again.  
"Should _I_ go with him?" Bex offered, anxious at Chris going back on his own. What if he didn't wake up again?  
She smiled at her reassuringly. "He'll be fine on his own, love."

Chris felt the noise from his mobile cut through him, giving him a piercing headache.  
On top of him being tired as well, it didn't help.  
He pulled up, hastily answering it.  
"So you're _awake_ now."  
He swallowed hard, recognising the voice almost immediately, despite the exhaustion. "Where are you?"  
"Not far away from you."

"I-I don't understand. What is it you want from me?"

"A _rematch_." 

Bex positioned herself next to her mother. "Is he going to be ok?"  
"He should be fine, sweetie. A few hours' sleep will sort him out in no time."

"Do you think he's got something similar to me?"  
"Well, I don't know…he hasn't gone through any real trauma like you. Not anything _you've_ done to him, is it?" She teased lightly.  
"I don't think so."  
"Well, I'll go round and check up on him after work." Karen decided. 

Chris swallowed hard, as the taller, larger male appeared almost out of nowhere. What was happening felt almost _surreal_.  
"What are you _waiting_ for, Chris?" He spoke dangerously on the other end of the line. "Are you _scared_?"  
"Not as scared as _you_." He quickly got out of his car and straight over to the other. "You wanna settle this _now_, is that what you want?"  
An evil smirk formed on his face. "You amuse me sometimes, you know that?"  
"And why's _that_?"  
A hand swiftly grabbed him by his shirt collar, bringing the shorter to eye level. "You think you're so _hard_. But you know what gets you into trouble so often?"  
Chris shuddered a little.  
"Your _big mouth_."  
"You wanna _hit_ me, why don't you take your shot?"  
"Oh…" He heavily let go of him, letting him drop to the ground. "But there's so much more I want to do with you."

Tom gave Karen a cup of tea, which she took thankfully. "You feel any better now?"  
She nodded slowly, as a slight relief washed over her after telling him everything.  
"Exhaustion does things to people in strange ways." He assured her. "I'm sure a few hours of sleep will sort him out."  
"H-he looked almost _shaken_, Tom." She noted. "I've _never_ seen him like that."

He carefully placed a hand on her shoulder. "When you go round later, you'll see him as his normal, perky self."  
She nodded slowly, feeling almost unsure.  
Tom followed her pensive gaze.  
"Bex seemed to twig the way Chris was feeling." She gazed at him softly. "It was almost like she could _sense_ his fright."  
"You think he's scared?"  
"I don't know…that's certainly the impression I got when he was here."

Chris felt his back hit the floor, the impact sending shocks all the way through his spine; he'd had enough confrontation, and had already decided on retreating.  
He didn't get very far.  
Two hands placed themselves on his waist, as he twisted about violently. "Maybe I should just make this easy for you."  
"Why, what are you going to do?"  
Something sharp pressed itself into his side. "One more word out of you and I'll gut you open like a _fish_."  
He shuddered from the sharp iciness on his skin.  
"That's more like it."  
Chris almost felt like he was crushed by the slight heaviness; he wrapped his legs around the larger male's hips, throwing him down against the ground.  
He got up, noticing the other had stopped moving and lay there lifelessly. His heart stopped dead. He _hated_ the guy just as much as the next person, if not more so, but he didn't want him _dead_. He slowly rolled him onto his back, noticing a dark red pool of blood had formed under his shirt.  
"Oh…no." Chris carefully pulled away the other male's bloodstained shirt, surveying a deep stab wound to his stomach. He immediately tried to stop the bleeding by pressing his jacket into the injury, but it was no good.  
Finding it useless, he gave up trying to stem the blood loss – it was already too late and he was also covered in blood.  
Shakily, he got up, got back into his car and sped off back to his place.


	71. Chapter 71

Bex went back to Chris's, still worried about the state he was in; he'd probably given in to Karen's demands for him to sleep, as the exhaustion had overtaken him too much.  
She was surprised to find him up out of bed – not only was he out of bed, but he was in the bathroom, frantically trying to scour away at something in the sink. "You ok in there?" She peered inside, her eyes immediately fixed onto his anxious blue ones.

"Oh…yeah. Fine." He didn't _seem_ fine.

"Are you sure?" She came further into the room, which prompted him to move closer against the sink to stop her from seeing what he didn't want her to see. "You haven't been _sick_, have you?"

"No…nothing like that."  
Bex frowned at the colour of the water in the sink – it was an odd red colour. "You're hurt."  
"Bex…" Chris couldn't find the strength to protest, as she carefully surveyed his arms for injury.  
"Where are you hurt?"  
"I'm not hurt _anywhere_." He swallowed hard, as he saw her eyes worriedly fixed onto his again.

"Then what's with the blood?" Her voice came out pale and thin, and she loosened her grip on him. It worried her all the more when he didn't answer her question. "Chris, what's happened?"  
Chris felt awful for not telling Bex, but he went back to what he was doing, although he was sure he was close to scouring the skin off his arms from how sore they felt.  
"Something happened from the time you left the school to the time you got here. Now I want to know what's wrong." She leant against the wall, folding her arms across her chest.  
"I-I don't wanna get into trouble…"  
"You _won't _if you tell me." She put to him softly. "Whatever it is, we can work something out."

"I-I doubt it, Bex."

She rubbed him down his back supportively. "Come on, let's get you sitting down so you feel more relaxed."

Chris was helped to sit down on the bed, as Bex took hold of his hands.  
"Do your arms hurt now?"

He nodded slowly.  
She smiled softly. "I'm not surprised after what you'd been trying to clean them with."  
He drew in a shaky breath. Owning up to something as grave as what he'd just done was something he _never_ thought he'd find himself doing. The whole experience had still left him shaken and dazed, and he didn't know how long it'd take for him to feel completely normal again. In a way, he wished the cops would come along and take him away before he found himself losing control.  
"Chris, whatever's happened…" She peered into his bright blue eyes, as they'd fixed onto the floor. "…I won't think any less of you."

"You _will_ if I tell you."

"Ssh…" Bex softly stroked the young male at the curve between his neck and under his jaw, drawing his gaze back up at her. "It's ok…tell me when you feel ready."

He swallowed hard, as her eyes warmly melted into his. "I-I've _killed_ someone."  
She kept a steady gaze on Chris, watching his eyes deviate a little, before she forced them back onto her. "Well I'm sure you didn't mean it. If it was _accidental_…"

"I-it _was_, but I _hated_ them, Bex."  
"You mean you know who they were?"  
He closed his eyes and nodded.  
"Was anyone else around when this happened?"  
"No…just us two."  
Bex tightened her grip on his hands. "Then no one will know it was _you_ who did that. And however it happened…"  
"I-I tried to _save_ him."

"That doesn't make you a bad person, Chris. None of it does. It was accidental." She rubbed him down his back. "A bad person wouldn't try to save someone they accidentally killed."  
"But innocent people don't _run away_ from the situation either, do they?" Chris gazed at her anxiously, tears rolling down his cheeks. "Maybe I should turn myself in – get it over with."

She came closer to him. "I know you well enough to know you could _never_ hurt anyone. I understand the way you feel, you're upset and you're shaken, and you're not thinking straight. I can make this go away and make you all better."  
He flitted his gaze to the floor, feeling the exhaustion set in even more. "Nothing will make this stop."  
"Ssh…" Bex stroked him down the side of his face, wiping away any excess tears that were threatening to fall. "Close your eyes and it'll be over."  
Resignedly, Chris closed his eyes and felt something warm and soft press against his lips; instead of withdrawing, he stayed there and took in the hot shocks going to his spine.  
She softly licked his lower lip, enjoying the fact that she'd made it wet and moist.  
Releasing his inhibitions, he leant further forward, desiring more of what was being offered to him. Their mouths hungrily sought out each other, their lips connecting and their tongues playfully moving together.  
Bex gasped softly, feeling Chris twirl his fingers in her long blonde hair. They moved further up against each other, as she sat on his lap and felt his arms wrap around her waist.

He found himself being pushed onto the bed on his back, and she ground her hips down onto his. He whimpered from their flush contact, as she sultrily pulled his trousers off from over his hips and down his legs.  
Once he'd been completely relieved of his clothes, an overpowering heat took over him as she positioned herself against him and led him further and further off the edge.  
Bex assaulted _every_ part of Chris's body, not letting an inch of it get overlooked; he squirmed and gasped under her, as she flicked her tongue into and over his navel.  
She moved against him, causing his gasps and whimpers to become more frequent – frantic pelvic bucks accompanied them soon after.  
He arched his back against the mattress, closing his eyes from the warmth gathering in between his legs. "B-Bex…A-ah…"  
She lapped her tongue up and over one swollen nipple, feeling it stiffen and perk up in her mouth. She placed her hands on the sides of his waist, as his breathing hardened from excitement.  
Chris twisted about under her, as he felt her hands wander all over his body, hitting hot spots in the most clandestine of places. His cheeks flushed a deep red when Bex brushed her fingers against the areas over his hips. He was losing control and he was unable to stop it.  
She closed her eyes as he gave a submissive squeak and arched his back when his release came. She held him steady against her body through the climax, till he lay back down on the bed and went to sleep.


	72. Chapter 72

Bex felt so happy lying in amongst the bed sheets, her gaze sifting over the sun's rays as they glowed against Chris's fair skin.  
He was still asleep, with his arms loosely wrapped around her as she'd pressed herself up against him to make him feel safe.  
Smiling tenderly, she drew an index finger along the side of his neck, causing him to stir under her but not wake up. His eyelids softly flickered, and he pulled her closer against his body. She found that incredibly cute.  
His eyes slowly opened, and she leant up slightly so she could peer down at him and sweep his bangs back.  
"Morning, beautiful." Bex whispered gently, pressing her lips to Chris's. A warm wave of pleasure coursed through her as their lips connected. In a way, it felt more of a triumph than actual pleasure, as she'd made him feel so good the night before. She'd made _amazing_, _mind-blowing_ love to him, sweeping her hands over his athletic body and hitting hot spots that neither of them thought existed.  
She as good as had him.

He gazed at her blankly, trying to recall what had happened the night before – whilst he couldn't deny what he'd felt and what she did to him felt so good, was it something he honestly wanted?  
"You must've had a good sleep." Bex softly drew circles around his navel with her index finger, knowing that it excited him when she touched him there. She looked deeply into Chris's bright blue eyes, noticing how the sun had drawn in an emerald-green colour into them. "Must've been what I did to you last night."

"What exactly happened last night?" He asked her dimly.  
She smiled softly at the fact that he didn't remember. "Wow – you must've liked it that much."  
"Bex…did we…_do it_?"  
She grew startled when he sat up, feeling his muscles ache. "I made you feel better."  
"Oh, no…" He was getting more and more worried at the fact that he couldn't remember and that Bex wasn't exactly helping when she wasn't being that clear with him. Maybe they _did_ do it. "No, no…"  
"I don't _think_ we did it."  
"That means you're not sure." Chris felt sick to his stomach. He did _not_ want to have to end up being engaged to one female, play surrogate father with her daughter, and sleep with _both_ of them. "God, why can't I _remember_?"  
"It's ok, you're probably still shaken…" She sat closer to him and rubbed him down his back. He didn't recoil or pull away from the touch. "What I did to you felt good, right?"  
"Yeah, I guess so."  
"What are you saying, you guess so?"  
He turned to face her more; his eyes had become so misted over from confusion, and he wanted it all to stop. He wanted _some_ form of clarity, but he wasn't getting it.  
"It's ok now, Chris…It's ok…" Bex placed her hands either side of his face, skimming her thumbs over the contours of his cheekbones. "You don't have to worry about anything anymore."  
"But I _do_ worry, Bex." Chris put to her weakly. "I'm supposed to _protect_ you, and what have I done?"  
"You've done all you can to protect me." She reassured him. "But who's going to protect _you_?"

"Me…"  
She smiled softly. "_I'm _here for you, silly…" She pressed her lips to his, hearing him utter a soft gasp as he reciprocated the kiss. She was surprised he responded like that, and they came a little closer together. "What happened with that other guy wasn't your fault. By the time you've gotten to work, you would've forgotten all about it."

Chris decided to hermit himself away to his room as soon as he got in to work; it wasn't long till Tom came in.  
"Working early?" He assumed teasingly, prompting him to peer up at him.  
"Oh. Hey." He watched him perch himself on his desk, noticing that out of the corner of his eye he was gazing at him.

"How do you feel?"  
"I guess a bit better."

Tom smiled a little. "Your eyes look better." He got Chris to tilt his head back up to look at him, and he skimmed a thumb over where the dark circles had violated his youthful features. "No more of those nasty dark circles."  
The younger male gazed at him anxiously, prompting him to frown and get worried.

"Chris, are you sure you're ok, mate?"  
"I think…I am…" Distractedly, he went back to his marking, only for Tom to place a hand on his shoulder.  
"Not about the discovery of that body on the dual carriageway, is it?"  
"B-body?" He sharply gazed up at him, his eyes becoming dim with shock. "What body?"

"I don't know, they haven't identified him yet. They think it was murder though."  
Chris suddenly felt hot and dizzy – almost like he was going to keel over any second. Tom frowned again. "Mate, are you all right? You seem a little flustered."  
He shakily got up, feeling his legs go weak. Why did he suddenly feel like getting away as far as possible so no one would find him?  
"You want some water?"

He shook his head, but wanted _contact_ more than anything – something that ensured he was still pretty much in reality and wasn't hallucinating. He felt almost disconnected, even when Tom pulled him up against him to try and calm him down.  
Karen came into the room, noticing the sticky situation. "What…?"

"Karen, quick. Something's wrong with him." The older male told her quickly.  
"Sh-should I call an ambulance?"

He shook his head. "No, that's too extreme. We need to get him lying down…he's slipping away."  
She rushed over to the two males, as Tom felt Chris get heavier against him; he'd shut down, curling himself up on the floor. "Oh, god…"  
"Give him some room." He instructed her. "He's fainted."  
"What should we do?"  
He shook his head. "We have to take him somewhere he can lie down." He swept a hand over his forehead, peering into his closed eyes. "Poor kid's in shock."

Karen couldn't help but fret at what had happened to Chris; Tom went down to check up on him in the first aid room where they'd carried him, but he was still no different.  
"Still out cold." He told her quietly.

"What exactly happened? Did he just…_pass out_?"  
He shrugged. "Pretty much. He came over a bit flustered and dizzy."  
She lowered an eyebrow. "Chris doesn't suffer from anything like fits or…convulsions. Unless he was stillpoorly."  
"No. I don't think anything that made him poorly would've made him do _that_." Tom realised he was due to check up on him again. "Give me a few minutes alone with him if he's awake, ok? He wouldn't have done that for _nothing_."


	73. Chapter 73

Chris felt his back _hurt_.  
He found himself lying down on something so hard that he was sure it was going into his spine; the whole place was covered in darkness and he felt, for one unsettling minute, that he'd been taken away and put in a police cell.  
He then frowned. Wouldn't he have had his rights read out to him if that were the case?  
The door slowly opened, and a large shadow stood in the doorway with the lights shining onto the back of them. "Chris, are you awake yet, mate?"

He slowly sat up, leaning against the wall that the bed had been up against.  
"Thank god you're awake. We were worried about you." Tom became more visible as he entered the room and sat next to him. "You were lucky you didn't knock your head when you fell…"  
"I-I _fell_?"

"You passed out." He carefully tilted his head up so he could gaze into his eyes. "I don't think there's any lasting damage. Must've been a bit of shock."  
Chris swallowed hard, as the older male positioned himself against the opposite wall. Maybe it was something that wasn't going to stay secret for long…  
"That room's not getting too hot for you, is it?"  
He shook his head dimly. "I don't wanna have to tell you, but I think I'm going to have to."  
Tom frowned and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Whatever it is, can't be that bad." He looked more serious. "Unless…it was about that body they've found."

He nodded a little.

"You _know_ about this?"  
"I was there when _they_ were there."  
"Y-you mean…when they were _alive_?" The grip on his shoulder loosened. Chris couldn't be…anything like _that_, could he? "God, mate…"  
He felt a tear roll down his cheek at the memory of it all. "I-I _killed_ them."  
Tom sat on the edge of the bed, quite close to him. "Go through it with me slowly." He wasn't going to write the young male off as some sort of murderer. He knew he was nothing like that. "Do you know who they were?"

He nodded weakly.  
"Ok, well, take your time in telling me. If you want to stop, you can."  
"Don't you think you should hand me in to the cops?"  
He shook his head. "I know you well enough to know you wouldn't hurt anyone."

After Chris had told Tom everything, the pair of them sat in stony silence.

"Maybe you should hand me in, Tom…" He went to get himself off the bed, when he felt a hand on his wrist.  
"No mate of mine is going to prison for something that wasn't their fault." He told him objectively.

"B-but…the attack. The fact that I caused him to die…"  
He shook his head. "Only you, Bex and I know what happened. No one else will know what really happened, or who did it. You're pretty much in the clear now, Chris, as there's nothing that places you there at that time."  
Chris nodded slowly, flitting his gaze away.

"Don't blame yourself, mate. Ok? You've got too much going on in your life to let yourself do things like that."

"What do you mean?"  
"You've got a women who _adores_ you, and pretty soon, she's going to want to start a life with you."  
"What, a life with a _killer_?"

Tom rubbed him down his back supportively. "These feelings will stop, and it'll take some time for them to. For now, go home and get some sleep."

"I can't keep doing that and I'm not tired."  
He flitted his gaze away. "Ok, well, stay here till you feel better."

Chris hazily went to where Karen was, and heavily sat down, startling her.  
"Feel better now?"

He nodded slowly. "I guess so, for what it was."  
She positioned herself next to him and rubbed him down his back. "If you don't feel up to working, Chris, you should go home."  
He pulled himself away sharply. "Why is everyone suggesting I should go home? I feel fine now."

"I'm sorry." Karen got him to look at her and their eyes locked onto each other. "If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to."

Chris swallowed hard, feeling awful that he'd been kissing her _daughter_ and was now going to kiss _her_.  
"I know you still feel the same way about me." She whispered softly, pulling him closer to her and allowing their lips to hover dangerously against each other. She could take in that seductive sweet scent on him, and she found herself craving more of it. "You know I love you."  
Their lips connected, and Karen relaxed into the kiss.  
He tried to enjoy it, finding it hopeless when all he could think of was what he and Bex did that night.  
She sultrily pulled away, noticing he didn't seem to be relaxing. "Chris, what's wrong?"  
Chris pulled away also.  
"You seem tense – like you don't want this." She stroked him at the back of his head. "This isn't like you."

He gazed into her dark eyes, not really knowing what he should be doing. "I _do_ want this."  
Karen smiled softly. "Try and relax then, you doughnut."  
"You wanna go out tonight?" He asked her randomly.  
"Chris…" She smirked, unable to resist his random attitude. "One thing at a time, ok? Kiss first. Talk later."

They leant forward, both lips connecting and their tongues hungrily plunging into each other's mouths.  
Chris whimpered as he felt her tongue lash playfully against his, and a small blush appeared at his cheeks.  
"Well, Mr Mead…" Karen remarked, noticing the small glow. "You're turning a very pretty _red_ colour!"  
Eagerly, he lowered his lips down on top of hers and started to bite and suck at her lower lip.  
She was sure a small blush started to form at _her_ cheeks.  
He softly pulled away, gazing into her dark eyes. "So does that answer my question?"  
She smiled seductively, taking hold of his hand and leading him over to the windowsill. "I don't think we're done _kissing_ yet."


	74. Chapter 74

Their hips moved together, both moving in perfect rhythm.  
Karen wrapped her legs around Chris's slender waist, her arms snaking themselves around him with her hands on his shoulder blades. She didn't care who saw them both going at it.  
Chris had leant quite far forward, sliding his body up against her; it was quite _exciting_ for both of them to do something as _naughty_ as what they were.  
His dewy, young skin glided against her slightly more mature skin, melting into each other seamlessly and becoming one.  
"S-such a naughty boy…" Karen dug her fingernails into his back, as she slowed her movements and he also did. "You _so_ know how to do it."  
He shakily retrieved his clothes that had been tossed randomly all over the room in the midst of their excitement, wasting no time in dressing himself.  
"Chris, are you sure you're ok?"  
"Y-yeah. Fine." He buttoned his shirt back up, realising at the last minute he didn't do it up properly.  
She frowned at his slight distraction. "I guess you're waiting for me to answer, aren't you?"  
"If you _really_ wanted me to take you out, you would've said so by now."  
She smirked. "But I haven't said no either, have I?" She sidled up to him, as she brought him up against the wall – he was still without his trousers, but that didn't stop her from drifting a hand to in between his legs and placing it against the significant, rigid excitement poking under his boxers.  
Chris let out a low whimper that dragged itself out from his throat, as the touch kept going. His eyelids softly flagged, feeling heavy from pleasure, as their lips connected again.  
"I guess there's no harm in it." Karen whispered seductively, deciding to slide her leg in between both of his and rub her thigh against his excitement. That action caused him to softly gasp. "But maybe after…we can go back to mine."  
"A-and do _what_?"  
She naughtily sucked on his lower lip, taking in its moistness. "There's so much I want to do to you…"  
"A-ah…" He tilted his head back as she pressed her lips against his throat.  
She ran her hands down the sides of Chris's body, allowing them to stop over the crests of his hips and pull his pelvic area down on top of hers. "What I wouldn't give to spend a whole night with you…to _touch_ you."  
He softly closed his eyes, as Karen's kisses softly moved to his chest when she undid his shirt collar to access his more sensitive areas.

"And _kiss_ you…" She took in that same sweet scent on his supple flesh, afraid that she might make herself heady from too much of that. "You smell good enough to eat."

Chris had been in silence for quite a while through the hour or so they'd been in the bar, drinking.  
"For someone who's usually quite perky, you're very quiet." Karen remarked.  
He snapped to, not realising how long both of them had been in there with him not saying a single word. "Sorry."  
"Don't apologise." She reached over and took hold of his hand, stroking him over his wrist. "Is there something wrong?"

He shakily drew in a deep breath. "If I told you, you'd have to promise not to tell _anyone_ else."  
"Don't worry." Karen winked. "Your secrets are safe with _me_."  
"It's not good, what I'm going to say." Chris couldn't help but feel a little relaxed at her stroking him the way she was. "You might not like me after it."  
"Chris, for what reason would I _hate_ you?"

Reluctantly, Chris went through everything with her, while she listened attentively.  
"…And after I realised I couldn't help him, I had to go back. There was nothing I could do for him, Karen."

She nodded slowly. "I can't fault you for trying to save the other guy's life. Nor can I fault you for trying to get away. Anyone would've done those things."

"I can hear a 'but' coming somewhere in this conversation."  
She smiled softly. "There's no 'but', Chris. You've done nothing wrong and what you've just told me won't go any further than between you and I."  
"Y-you _believe_ me?"  
Karen nodded softly. "Now I think we need to get you somewhere you can relax and take your mind off all this. Where I can make you feel better." Her dark eyes sparkled a little. "Get this tension out of you."

Once Chris had driven both him and Karen back to hers, she led him straight to her room, not caring if _any_ of her kids had seen them.  
Both of them stripped each other down to complete nudity, and she positioned herself on his lap, pushing him down onto the bed on his back.  
Karen leant over Chris's slender form, sliding her hips onto his and melting her body into his.

Both of them moved in perfect tempo, as she pressed her lips to his and plunged her tongue into his warm mouth.

"This is _very_ nice…" She whispered softly, liking the way he twisted his body under her as she kissed him at his neck. "…But maybe we should go for something a bit more…_stimulating_."  
"L-like what?"

"If you get onto your sexy flat _stomach_…" Karen licked him up the side of his neck, eliciting a gasp from him. "…I'll _show_ you."  
Chris did as he was told, flipping himself over onto his front as she positioned herself on top of his legs; she placed her hands on the sides of his waist, pressing her thumbs into his back. He uttered a low whimper from how good that felt.

"Don't worry, it gets better."  
He felt shocks shoot down his spine and go to every part of him as a warmth settled in his stomach.  
She closed her eyes, sliding her tongue against the soft, silky skin and taking in its sweetness. She was doing something she felt powerless to stop.  
Chris's whimpers turned into cries as her lapping drew itself lower and lower. He arched his back and whimpered into the pillow at the feelings exploding all over him.  
"A-a-ah…" He gasped out, as a peculiar sensation gathered in between his legs and moved backwards. He thrust his hips into the bed at what was happening to him.  
"Mmm…you like that a lot." Karen enjoyed his cute little noises, as well as how good he tasted.  
He squeaked out in shock, as something warm yet soft pressed itself into the most _forbidden_ of areas and rubbed him.

"This will make _everything_ disappear." She loved the way his body tensed up whenever she touched him inside. "And you'll start feeling better."

It didn't take long for Chris to release; Karen's stroking at him slowed down and she withdrew as he started to recover from his climax. "K-Karen…I've never been done like that before."  
"But it felt good, didn't it?"  
"The _best_."

She smiled softly. "Do you still feel bad?"  
"A bit." He flipped himself back over onto his back. "You know what the worst part of it is?"  
She shook her head. "What?"

"Th-the guy that died…was my old _boss_."


	75. Chapter 75

Karen was in utter shock, as she noticed Chris skittering towards the edge of the bed and leaning further forward so he could cast his gaze anywhere but at her. "God…oh, dear god, Chris, I'm so sorry."  
He shivered when he felt her hand rest itself on his shoulder.

"I take it he wasn't very nice?"

"'Wasn't very nice'?" He shook her off him. "Karen, he was _evil._ There was not one person in the place who _liked_ him – I _did_ like him till I figured out for myself what he was really like."  
She frowned. "Where did you work when all this went on?"

"The same place."  
"I-in the _school_?" When Chris nodded, she moved her hand to his back, knowing that he often always liked being touched there. "He was the one I _replaced_?"  
"If you wanna look at it that way." He didn't move his gaze away from the floor, which seemed to be what he was quite happy doing. "He always liked to see himself being in charge all the time."

"But it's _over_ now, Chris. He can't hurt you anymore." Karen stroked him some more. "You're safe with me. All the guys at work love you, very much."  
He nodded weakly. "I-I just wished I'd have done that _sooner_, and not have everything come together at once the way it did."

She pulled him closer against her. "What do you want to do? You want to stay here or go back home?"  
Chris thought that through quite painstakingly. If he went back to his own place, he'd have more trouble concentrating and dare he said it, possibly end up having the flashbacks during his sleep. He felt like being by himself, sure, but not to intentionally _isolate_ himself from everyone else – especially if they wanted to _help_ him. "I-I guess I should stay here."  
Karen smiled supportively. "I'll look after you. You know I will."  
"Plus I might've had my flat raided by now."  
Her smile got a little broader at his comment. "Don't be silly. They don't even know you were up there at that time."

When morning came, Karen wanted to make _extra_ sure that Chris felt up to working; both of them managed to get a bit more sleep, but because he was still in shock, she didn't want him to keel over like last time.  
"I'll be fine." He told her steadily. "Honestly. I'm better now."  
"Chris…I know you don't want people to see you as a baby, but there are people who care about you there. If you were to have another…"  
"Go on, you can say it." He got his jacket on, zipping it up swiftly. "Another _episode_. Or a _turn_. Either one of those might make me feel that much better."

"…I don't think anyone would know what to do if that happened again. Which is why I want to make sure you're as well as you _say_ you are."

Chris tore his gaze away from her, feeling a little guilty.

"You sure you feel up to working?"

He nodded slowly.  
"Ok. Well…if you feel any different, come and see me. Ok? I can take you off one or two of your sets so you can rest…maybe get some sleep."  
"I don't _need_ to sleep." He protested weakly. "I just need people to get off my case."  
"We'd better go." Karen didn't want to labour the point any further with him. If he wanted to see her, the offer was there. She didn't want to press him any further about it.  
They both left together.

As soon as they got into the building, Chris immediately wanted to go separate from Karen as she went to her room and he started to go towards his.

"Chris, wait."

He stopped dead in his tracks, and gazed straight at her. "What's the problem?"

She came up to him and placed her arms around his waist, drawing his body up against hers. "Look after yourself, ok?"  
"I do that anyway."  
"I mean try and relax…take it easy – for me." She placed an index finger under his jaw, drawing his lips down onto hers. They both shared a warm, tender kiss, as they both pulled away.  
She smiled affectionately. "See, that's more like it."

Chris found it quite easy to take his mind off the flashbacks and shock for the first two sets; both were blank and he spent all that time marking. All that time he was in the first aid room when he keeled over had made inroads into what little spare time he had left.  
He vaguely heard his door open, but he was too occupied to bother who it was who had come in.

"Chris, I need to talk to you." A familiar voice told him from the doorway.

"Can't it wait, Bex?" Chris didn't lift his eyes off what he was writing.  
"Not really."  
He stopped, dropping his pen on the paper he was halfway through, and gazed up at her steadily. "I'm _very_ behind with this marking – I really don't wanna be slowed down by things that could so easily wait till later. Unless it's urgent, I don't wanna know."  
"I saw you both last night."

He decided that sort of thing was pretty much _non-urgent_. He retrieved his pen and went back to what he was doing. "Which part of last night did you _see_?"

"_All_ of it."

"What's your point?"  
Bex came closer to Chris, prompting him to stop writing altogether. "You're still with _her_, that's my point."  
"Bex…" He turned to face her. "I _love_ your mum. I'm not just going to break it off with her to be with you."  
She looked away sadly.  
"I'm _engaged_ to her – that's how deep our relationship is." His eyes softened into hers. "And it's something someone your age won't yet experience."

"I just want someone to hold me and tell me I'll be ok."  
"That _is_ what I do for you." Chris grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer towards him. "I want nothing _more_ than that. A sexual relationship with you is something I can't have."  
"You didn't seem to have any problem with that the other night."

"I know." He gazed at her steadily. "I know we both did…_that_. I can only put that down to how _shaken_ I was. I was in a state, you said so yourself."  
"B-but I made you feel good, didn't I?"  
He had to admit, she got him there. "Well, yeah…I can't deny it did. But it was only short-lived and it wasn't through _emotion_. It was through…_lust_, I guess."  
"You find me _attractive_?"  
"I can't put my finger on anyone who wouldn't think that." Chris realised he was going off at a tangent. "What has this got to do with that night?"  
Bex smiled more seductively. "I want you to end it with my mum."  
He shook his head. "You know I can't do that – unless it's for a better reason than for me to get with you again…"

"Ok, then I'm going to move out from my mum's, cut myself off from you and disappear off the face of the planet again."  
"Don't you think that's a bit silly?" He put to her steadily. "And how does that benefit _you_ exactly?"

She didn't seem to care how she made people feel.  
"Bex, you're going to end up hurting your _mum_. And how would it look for _me_?"  
She saw him come closer to her. "Isn't that the whole idea – to drop you in it entirely?"  
"She depended on me to look after you. So _both_ of us will get into trouble. Didn't you even _think_ about that?"  
Bex noticed that Chris was hovering just in front of the side of his desk. A naughty thought entered her mind.  
"Aren't you even _listening_ to me?"  
She pressed her lips to his, startling him and causing him to try to skitter backwards to get away.  
He failed to realise he was trapped between her and his desk. "Bex," he started, before her claiming his mouth with hers cut off his sentence; she placed her hands on his hips, as he slid up onto the desk, inviting her to touch areas that between them, shouldn't be touched. What had started off as a protest turned into a low, pleasured whimper.  
"Feel good?"


	76. Chapter 76

Chris felt the heat in between his legs subside after his and Bex's moment of fun; his chest heaved heavily from pleasure, worried at the prospect of someone like _Karen_ coming in and seeing them both.

She was pleased with herself for making him feel so good and causing him to explode like that.  
"Th-that can never happen again, Bex." He shakily did his fly back up. "Have I made myself clear?"  
She smirked at the way he twisted about under her on the desk; a rosy blush adorned his cheeks as his release approached and came. It was a very pretty sight.  
"Nothing you do will make me change my mind about marrying your _mum_."  
"Then I'll tell her that you neglected me – that you didn't want to look after me anymore."  
He smirked. "Your mum's not likely to believe _that_."  
"Really? She wouldn't choose to believe her own _daughter_ over her _toy boy_." She purred, teasingly sliding her finger down his chest. "You know we belong together – and that you _liked_ every minute of that."  
Chris didn't have an answer for her. She thought they were both _made_ for each other? He couldn't help but feel how badly disillusioned the poor girl was going to be.  
"Just once more if you're not entirely sure."  
Once both of them were dressed, he opened the door for her to go. "You know what my answer is, Bex."  
She drew in a deep breath. She knew she would just keep on trying with him.

"I'll see you at the end of the day, ok?"

Karen was surprised to find Chris coming in just before their first break. "And there was me thinking you were going to hermit yourself away."  
He closed the door behind him, his eyes coyly fixed onto hers. "You wanna come out with me tonight?"  
"Oh, what's this all for then?"  
He perched himself on the corner of her desk, his bright blue eyes taking on a more innocent look as they glistened in the sunlight. "…Nothing special. I just wanna do something romantic with you."  
In a way, Chris couldn't help but feel it was a pity that Karen didn't know how beset with guilt he felt for kissing her own _daughter_.  
"You can't stop being romantic, Chris." She reached out, cupping the young male's face and stroking him at his cheek with her thumb.  
"I'll be over to yours at 7 then, yeah?" He assumed cheekily, knowing already her answer was a yes.  
"As long as we get to have a bit of fun together after."  
"Oh, I'm sure we can squeeze that in somewhere." He teasingly slid his fingertips through her blonde bangs. "Maybe somewhere between the wine…and the massage…" He added casually.  
Karen felt her breath get taken away by Chris's tempting words. "You know how to satisfy your women, don't you?"  
"I do when they're _special_." He whispered, sliding his lips down onto hers. "Like _you_."

It was 7 that night.  
Karen got into Chris's blue Lexus, noticing that he'd kept his eyes fixed on her as she carefully got in.

"Wow." He remarked chirpily. "You put a lot of thought into what you were going out for."  
She caught his gaze roving from her glowing complexion at her chest, which was slightly showing from the way her coat's collar was positioned against her skin; his eyes moved further downward, along the sparkly dress that accentuated her curvaceous figure to her slender, long legs. He wasn't looking at her lewdly, but in a more _admiring_ way. "Like what you see?"  
"But of course." Chris smirked cheekily. "I like _everything_ about you."  
"So I take it that where we're going is somewhere…_upmarket_, is it?"  
He started to pull away quite smoothly. "Oh, so where I've been taking you hasn't been _good_ enough for you?" He teased. "You _are_ hard to please."

Karen smirked at his remark. "Well, maybe you should try _harder_."  
"I hope this time I _have_." He winked tauntingly. "Or you might not wanna go out with me again."

After they'd gone out, they got back into the car.  
"So, my lady." Chris seductively gazed at Karen. "Where do you wish to go now?"

She smiled softly. "What are the options?"

"Well, we can either go back to mine, go to bed and have fun – or go back to mine and let me make a fuss of you."  
"Hmm…" She teasingly slid an index finger up the length of his thigh. "I think I prefer the _latter _option."  
"Well if my special lady wants to be fussed over…" He leant further forward, allowing her to take in that gorgeously sweet scent on his neck. "That's what my special lady is going to _get_." He knew that _always_ got her.

Chris took Karen straight to bed, towing her over to it and getting her to sit down on it as he disappeared. "Don't move from there."

She stayed where she was, not intending to go anywhere else.  
"Hope you like these." He reappeared with a massive bunch of flowers – ones she'd _never_ seen before. "Wasn't sure what ones you like."  
"C-Chris, I…" She took them from him, and buried her nose into one of the open flowers. "They're _beautiful_."

Chris positioned himself quite close to her. "I thought some of them matched the colour of your eyes." He noted coyly.

Karen planted a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you."  
"That's not the end of it yet." Like a flash, he struck a match and lit one of the tealights on the nightstand next to the bed. "So if you would care to take that sexy dress off and let me see that beautiful body of yours…"  
Shuddering with excitement at the way he was talking to her, she did as he'd told her to, sliding the strapless dress from around her chest and allowing it to glide down her slender legs.

"Perfect." Chris's bright blue eyes sparkled with pleasure as he took in her curvaceous frame. "Just…absolutely perfect."  
Karen shyly gazed at him as he pulled her further towards him and carefully placed a hand on the curve of her waist.  
"You seem a little _shy_, Mrs Fisher."

"A-a bit, I guess."  
The young male smiled softly as he placed his other hand on the opposite curve of her waist and planted a soft kiss on her stomach, below her navel. "You've got absolutely nothing to be shy about…you're perfect."  
She closed her eyes and gasped as he dipped his tongue into the small recess of her navel and took in her skin's sweetness.

Chris closed his eyes at the aroused noises she was making against him, feeling slightly excited himself. He shakily peered up at her. "Romantic as this all this, we should really put the tealights to their _proper_ use."  
"Oh, and what's that exactly?"  
"Well, if I told you _now_…" He stripped himself down to completely nothing, his gaze fixing on her. "…Wouldn't be much of a _surprise_, would it?"


	77. Chapter 77

Karen found herself stuck in a dreamlike reverie for pretty much of all of Monday morning.

She was aware of Janeece and Ruby talking amongst themselves about something, what, she wasn't really sure.

"Someone's a bit _smitten_ today." Janeece noted chirpily.

"What?" Karen snapped to, noticing both of them knowingly gazing at her.  
"Had a bit of a dirty weekend going on, did you?" She winked saucily.

"I don't think that's any of your…"  
"As long as you didn't do anything _we_ wouldn't do." Ruby came to her defence.  
Karen went back to her daydreaming about that weekend; everything about those three nights with Chris was certainly _impressive._ Maybe they _were_ both made for each other.

It was certainly going to be something that was hard to top.  
She closed her eyes at the sensation of him allowing his hands to travel up her body and then dexterously work them into her flesh, rubbing away deep-set tension.  
And what happened _after_…was just _too good for words_.  
"It _was_ definitely impressive…" Her voice tailed off, as she realised she'd said that out loud, prompting the other two to gaze over at her.  
"_What_ was?" Janeece wanted to know.

Karen gazed at her incredulously.  
"Oh, come on, we're all females here. What's wrong with a little girl talk?"  
She resignedly decided to tell all. "Chris was being so sweet and it was quite cute."

"What did he do?"  
She went through everything that had gone on, from Friday evening when he picked her up to Monday morning, waking up to find herself in his arms.

"Sounds like _my_ ideal bloke." Ruby noted, a hint of jealousy in her voice.

"Oi, hands off, Rubes." Janeece quipped. "He's _Mrs Fisher's_, not yours."

"Wish _I_ had someone who could get _me_ expensive flowers and take me out every night." She already had someone, she knew, but Chris seemed just…too good to be true.  
"Well, it's not every night." Karen admitted. "But he _does_ like to make me feel special."

"And why not?" Ruby smiled a little. "You two look so perfect together, it's pretty cute."

She smiled coyly.  
"And not forgetting that _rock_ he got her." Janeece pointed out, tilting her head towards the understated diamond solitaire gracing her engagement ring finger.  
"If you like to think of it as a rock…"  
"So when's the wedding?"  
Karen flitted her gaze away shyly. "Well, we haven't really talked about that…"

"Can _I_ be your _bridesmaid_?" She asked her excitedly.

She cringed at the thought of what she would look like. "All in good time, ok? We haven't even set a _date_ yet!"

"Doesn't it _bother_ you at how much he's _indulging_ you, though, Karen?" Ruby suddenly asked her. "I mean it's nice that he does it and he obviously _adores_ you, but don't you think what he's doing is a bit…_excessive_?"

"Oh, come on…I think it's _cute_." Janeece nudged her. "And why _can't_ he show how much he loves her? He treats her well enough."  
Karen shook her head. "I don't know…I've never really thought about it that way."  
"Taking you to expensive places, buying you expensive flowers…not forgetting the massage and god only knows what else – what was he doing it for?"  
"A-are you saying Chris _doesn't _love me?"

"No, I mean, was it for a special occasion?"

"Well…no. He just said he wanted to make a fuss over me."  
Ruby smirked knowingly. "I think he's _hiding_ something."

"Rubes…" Janeece protested, not going along with what she was saying.  
She shrugged. "Woman's instinct."

Karen shook her head. "Chris knows better than to cheat on me or lie to me. He wouldn't do any of those things…he loves me to bits."

"What if he lied to her because he loved her though – if it meant him protecting her?" Janeece put to Ruby thought-provokingly.

"I don't know…still lying, isn't it?" She assumed.

Chris heard his mobile vibrate on his desk; luckily, whoever it was didn't catch him at such a bad time. He answered, surprised to hear that it was _Bex_.  
"I can't cope anymore." She told him weakly.

"I'm not coming round there for any more…you know…_stuff_."  
"W-what sort of stuff?"  
"You _know_ what sort of stuff, Bex. _You_ getting _me_ into _bed_." He sharply got up, close to hanging up. Why did she have to try to attract attention the way she did?  
"I want to _die_, Chris."

Now he knew he had to be sympathetic with her. But how could he, after she tried to get him into bed with her and almost made him break it off with her mum? If that was attention seeking, she really _was_ sinking that low. "Don't be silly. We both know you're not intending on doing that."  
"You don't believe me, do you?"  
"Not really, no." He leant against the low windowsill, unsure of what to feel or believe. He wanted to believe her, he really did, but after everything that had gone on, he didn't find that possible. "Come back to school…so you're somewhere I can keep an eye on you. I wanna be there for you, but not if you're going to emptily threaten us by saying you're going to end your life."  
"This is _no_ empty threat, this is real." And with that, she hung up.

Chris swallowed hard. She _sounded_ like she meant it. And if she _did_ mean it, what was she planning on using to kill herself with?

He realised Bex had used the landline at her mum's, so that was _one_ dilemma out of the way.  
But would she still be there by the time he got there?

Not wanting to dream up what could potentially happen to her, he felt he had no option but to see for himself.  
It was lucky he didn't have any _other_ sets that day.


	78. Chapter 78

It was lucky that Karen had given Chris a spare set of her keys.

He got in to the house, hearing nothing but deadly silence. "Bex?"  
No answer.

A small twinge of anxiety stabbed him at his chest. What if she was…already dead?

_No!_ He couldn't think that. He wouldn't let himself think that. The best bet she would _possibly_ be would've been the bathroom.  
Sure enough, she'd curled herself up on the floor, hardly looking like she was even breathing.  
"Bex…" Chris shakily bent down next to her, carefully moving her onto her back; he'd noticed she'd come over a pale colour and she was also not responding to him.

In order to get more of an understanding of what she'd actually done or taken, he scanned the area around her, noticing a small box of medication that had been opened and emptied. He was shocked to realise what it was she'd actually taken, and he felt awful for not taking her threat more seriously.

He tilted her head back, sealing his mouth on top of hers so he could at least try to get some air into her.  
As the minutes went by, Chris grew more and more upset at her not responding to him. He pressed down on her chest a few times, alternating between that and breathing into her. "Come _on_, Bex…_breathe_." He fought the tears that were close to rolling down his cheeks, before hearing her violently cough and then breathe on her own.

He had to keep her still, as she stirred hazily under him. "Good girl…" He shakily dialled for an ambulance, and told himself to stay with her till it got there.

Chris had been in the A + E waiting room for what seemed like _hours_; Bex was hastily carted in through to the ward, and he was told to wait for any more news on her condition. He'd hoped she hadn't deteriorated on the way there, or he wouldn't have been able to forgive himself.  
The doctor came out some time later, and went straight to him.  
"How is she?"  
"She's still unconscious." He told him gravely. "She's ingested the total amount of medication in her system, and we're already trying to clear that out by pumping it out of her."  
He nodded dimly.  
The doctor's pager went off. "I'm needed where she is. I'll need to see her."

"Can I see her?" Chris asked.

Bex dimly came round from her coma, violently throwing up in the bowl her nurse had given to her.  
The doctor came in, with Chris closely following.  
"Oh, great." She drew in a deep breath. "Now I'm in trouble."

"You're _not_ in trouble." Chris sat next to her, rubbing her arm softly. "I'm here to look after you."

"I thought you didn't like places like this."

He smiled softly. "Well…seeing as I'm not the one being _treated_ here, I think I can handle it a bit better this time round."

"God…" Bex whimpered out. "I feel so sick."

"What made you take all that medication?" Chris wanted to know. "You knew none of that was meant for you and that's _deadly_ stuff to take."  
"I-I just couldn't cope." She watched him come closer to her. "Everything that had gone on…"

"You know it's making me start to question the benefit of you staying with me." He told her slowly. "If you do things like this, staying with me isn't the best idea."

"B-but I _love_ you." She protested.

"Bex…" Chris softly stroked her through her long blonde hair. "I love you too, but when your welfare's at risk, I've got to do what _I_ feel is the best thing for you."

"I don't want to be sent away." She pleaded with him. "Please don't send me away."  
"I'm going to have to, and I'm sorry." He sounded so apologetic as he stroked her through her hair. "You were lucky this time, probably because you're still young. But what about next time? You might not be so lucky second time round."  
She shakily flitted her gaze away, feeling the tears roll down her cheeks.

"I had to _revive_ you." Chris told her softly. "That was how close you came to…not being able to wake up."

"I'm sorry." She told him. "I'm so, so sorry. I won't do it again."  
"I _know_ you're sorry, sweetheart." He whispered gently, wiping the tears away with a fingertip. "But there's always a chance it will happen again if you're not being looked after properly."  
"You were looking after me _fine_, though, Chris. Please…don't make them take me away."

"Ssh…it's ok. It's ok now…" Chris felt awful as he allowed Bex to lie down in bed as she became inconsolable from shock. "You need to sleep."

"I don't want to sleep, I want to go home." She sat back up, throwing her arms around him. "Don't leave me here."

He ran his finger up and down the length of her spine through the starchy shirt. "I won't leave you. I'll stay for however long you want me to."

"I'm guessing my mum will have to know."  
"I'm afraid so." He kept the stroking going. "But she'll be here for you too – just as I will. We both love you."  
She pulled away, allowing Chris to wipe a few more escaping tears from the corners of her eyes.  
"Tell you what…I'll make sure I'll come by and see you every day, if you want." He promised. "Even when I'm working later…how does that sound?"  
Bex managed a weak smile. "Sounds good."

"Good." He carefully loosened his grip on her as she settled back down into bed. "Now you go and do what the people here tell you…and I'll let your mum know that you're safe."  
"Thanks, Chris…" She felt a lot better after talking to him. "You've been ever so nice to me."

He smiled softly. "Just make sure you get some sleep." 


	79. Chapter 79

Whilst Chris was trying to get through to Karen and failing to do so, he decided to let Bex sleep off some of the shock. 

When she had some sleep and woken up, she shuddered from the stinging sensation as the nurse had set about wiping antiseptic on her badly cut arms.  
"Did you do that earlier before I came round?" Chris wanted to know, still trying to remain supportive towards her, but finding it hard to accept that she'd kept the self-harming to herself.  
She nodded weakly. "I'm sorry."

He folded his arms across his chest, incredulously. "I don't know why you're apologising to _me_ for, Bex. You should be apologising to _yourself_."

"I couldn't help it." She flinched from how tightly her arms were bandaged up to prevent her from any further injury.  
"I _do _understand how you feel." Chris gazed at her slowly. "But there are times when you have to try and take control yourself."

"I tried…" Bex wept out. "I really tried."

He edged closer to her and rubbed her down her back.  
"Have you called mum yet?"  
"No, she wasn't back when I called." He got her to look into his bright blue eyes. "I know this sounds hard to believe, but _I've_ been getting flashbacks as well and they're not nice."  
She smiled sadly. "That's strange for someone like you."  
"Why do you say that?"  
"Because you always seem so…protective."  
Chris pulled her into a hug. "Well, even tough guys like _me_ get them. So don't feel like you're the only one with them."

"Do they consist of the attack?"

He nodded. "Mainly." He folded a stray wisp of blonde hair back behind Bex's ear again when he noticed it had fallen down along her face. "I still think keeping all of this from me is wrong."  
She shivered as she cast her gaze down onto the blankets.

"I mean is there any reason at all why you decided not to talk to me about this, Bex?"  
Bex swallowed hard. "I didn't want to seem weak, I guess."

"You can _never_ be weak." He assured her. "Not when you've gotten as far with getting help as you have done."

She gazed up at him, unsure of what he meant.  
"It takes a _lot_ of guts for someone to speak up against an assault – physical or otherwise. And the hardest thing is actually doing that."  
"But there's no going back now – is there?"

Chris fixed his eyes on her placidly. He didn't know why he was being so calm staying with her. He was worried sick about her, but he put it down to the fact that he knew she was safe. "Not now, no."  
Bex felt a tear slide down from under her eyelashes, gasping softly when she felt something tenderly wipe it away.  
"Please don't get upset." His deep Mancunian accent softened as he spoke to her.  
"I wouldn't get upset like this if you let me stay some more with you."

"You know that can't happen now." He placed a hand on her wrist and began to stroke her there softly. "They've already referred you to a mental institution."

"Then why am I still here?" She wept out, feeling Chris softly stroke her long blonde hair back from her eyes. "Being kept in here is prolonging the _pain_ I'm feeling…"

She may be in some form of trauma, but it was strange that she was thinking and speaking quite logically.  
"I think they're getting a bed ready for you."

Bex shook her head. "I'm not being kept in a hospital ward."  
The grip on her wrist tightened. "I'm staying with you whatever happens."

She drew in a deep breath, looking over at the time and realising it had gotten a little late. "You should go home." She didn't want him to, really.  
Chris only came closer. "My priority is with _you_, Bex."  
She shuddered as he kept the stroking going. "I don't want you to go."

The doctor came in a few moments later. "Well, the people at the mental institution have gotten a bed ready for Bex now."

She felt sick at the thought of Chris leaving her.  
"Does she have to go up there _now_?" He asked him.  
He shook his head. "Whenever she's ready. If she wants to get any bits together, she can do that."  
He turned to her steadily. "You wanna get anything together before you go up there?"

Bex nodded sadly.  
"You want me to help you?"  
"I want to go back to yours first."  
"Sure." Chris waited for her to get up out of bed so he could walk back with her to his car and go back to his.

As soon as they got in, Bex wearily sat down on the bed, as Chris took his place next to her.

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a warm embrace. "It's ok."

"No, it isn't." She wept out, feeling him slide his fingers through the long lengths of her blonde hair. "I don't want to go."

"You heard what the doctor said. You don't have to go up there straight away if you don't wanna, Bex. They're not forcing you."  
"I _should_ go though."  
He felt awful as he sensed her shudder against him. All he could do was to hold her close. "Why did you wanna come by here first?"

"I'm going to _miss_ you…" Bex gazed up at Chris shakily, not caring if she'd upset him with her red, watery eyes. "I want to take something that reminds me of you."

He knew what she was getting at – like a comfort object. Of course, she wasn't exactly a _baby_ – but she needed _comfort _while she was going to be there. Some sort of reassurance that he was still close by. "I don't really know _what_." He looked around the room, unsure.

"Even if it was something like a _blanket_."  
"I-if that's what you _want_." He disappeared out of the room, as she curled up on his bed.  
She took in that familiarly sweet, yet musky scent that she always sensed on him and didn't want to move away from it. Just fall asleep and stay there.  
"Hope this is ok." Chris reappeared with a fairly small yet seemingly warm blanket. "I didn't have anything smaller."  
She didn't move from her comfy spot on the bed, but she was aware of the mattress dipping a little when he positioned himself next to her again and slid her towards him.  
He gazed down at her and softly stroked her through her hair. "We'd better go soon, Bex."  
"Will you come into my mum's with me?" Bex asked him, sitting up immediately and taking hold of the young male's hands.  
He smiled softly. "Course I will."

She smiled back a little. "Pity we can't have any nights in while I'm there."

Chris's smile got cheekier. "Well…I could get them to bend the rules a little."  
She smirked.  
"What else do I use my _looks_ for?"  
She tapped him on his thigh playfully. "_Very _funny." She looked a little sadder. "I'm going to miss you, Chris."  
"Hey…" He wiped a stray tear from the corner of her eye. "I'll try and sort something out for the days I come over, ok? I promise."

Bex relaxed a little more, and she didn't know if it was from the touch or from what he said. She smiled thankfully.  
"Let's get a move on, yeah? Get some stuff together and get you over there before they take you off the list."


	80. Chapter 80

Bex was unaware of where Chris had taken her; all she could remember was closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep on his bed, even though he'd said to her more than once for them to go to her mum's to collect some of her stuff to take.

"Bex…" A familiar, reassuring voice spoke softly from over her, and a hand placed itself on her back, rubbing her tenderly. "We're there now, sweetheart."

Her eyes heavily opened, and she sat up in the back of his car. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep."  
"Hey…" Chris's bright eyes comfortingly fixed onto hers. "Don't be sorry. You're exhausted. And it's good that you had a little sleep."  
Bex found that the blanket had been tenderly draped over her to keep the worst of the overnight frost from getting to her.  
"You seem to _like_ that blanket." He pointed out. "You didn't wanna _part_ with it all through the drive."

"H-how are we going to handle my _mum_ though?" She looked to him, frightened.  
He twirled a long blonde strand around his finger. "Don't worry about your _mum_, ok? I'll take care of her."

Bex went straight up to her room to get a few bits together, while Karen took Chris through to her lounge.  
"It's a nice surprise for _you_ to come over." She noted sultrily. "I hope you're thinking of _staying_ the night with me."  
"Well…that's what I came over here for, Karen." He didn't want to look at her.  
She tilted her head slightly.

"Bex has been re-referred to the mental institution."  
"She didn't like it there though."  
He drew in a deep breath, hating himself for having to tell her everything. "She was self-harming."  
"W-_what_?" She sounded incredulous. "Why? When? What with?"  
Chris sat closer to her and placed his hands on her wrists. "She overdosed on some medication she found."  
Karen shook slightly. Things like painkillers were quite mild, what could she have used? "What did she use, Chris?"  
"She overdosed on anti-depressants." He saw her immediately look worried. "Which happened to be prescribed to _you_."

"Oh…god." She shakily looked away. "I _knew_ I should've put those further out of the kids' reach. I just didn't think…"

"That's what happens when you _don't_." He was in part _infuriated_ with her – not only had she failed to put something so lethal out of Bex's reach, but she also failed to tell him she was suffering some form of depression. "How recent are those?"

"Well…fairly, I guess."  
"Can you be a bit more exact?" He fixed his eyes onto hers attentively. "We're talking in terms of _months_ here."

Karen didn't seem sure.

"Or is it more recent than that?"

She drew in a deep breath. "I've been taking them before Charlie and I split up. Does that make you happy?"  
"Not really." Chris admitted.  
She guiltily looked away.

"Karen, this is the first I've heard of you suffering from depression and taking anti-depressants for it. Why not tell me?"  
"I just thought it'd be over by the time we got together…"

"Well, if you hadn't completed the full dosage you were given, that means that it wasn't over." He didn't like lecturing her, but the whole situation was infuriating him to no end. "And look what's happened."  
"I didn't mean to not tell you, Chris…"  
He started thinking he should check up on Bex to make sure she was pretty much ready to go.  
"I didn't want you thinking I was weak."  
"What is it with _your family _and having these feelings of _weakness_?" He asked her rhetorically. "The _real_ weakness you have is not coming to me to say you weren't coping. And don't even think of saying it's because you wanna be seen as in control. Because you're not. And things like _this_ wouldn't be happening."  
Karen knew Chris had a point; she watched him move over to the lounge window, an air of exhaustion and frustration melting into one.  
There was silence between them, as they both looked different ways, not knowing where to look.  
"I'd better check up on her." He noted quietly.  
"Chris." She stopped him from going up the stairs.

He gazed at her tiredly.  
"I'm sorry."

He shook his head resignedly. "It's not me you should be apologising to, Karen. It's _Bex_ you should be saying sorry to."

Bex was wearily sitting down on her bed, unaware of her bedroom door opening behind her.  
"Wondered what you were up to." Chris noticed that she didn't turn round once he'd come in. He grew worried. "Bex?"  
"I'm going to miss this room."  
He took his place close to her on the bed, with her back turned to him still. "Well hopefully you won't be away from here for too long. A few weeks and that might be it."  
She gazed round at him, tears glistening in her eyes. "Really?"  
"I can't promise anything, but hopefully…yeah."  
"Did you talk to mum?"  
He nodded slowly.  
"How did she take it?"  
"Let's not worry about your mum, ok? Concentrate on making you better." Chris pulled her into a hug.  
"_You_ make me better, Chris."  
He smiled softly at her comment. "I think this is something no amount of nights round mine is going to solve."  
Bex buried her head against his chest, taking in that soothingly sweet, musky scent on his shirt. "I love spending nights in with you."

"So do I."  
She gazed up Chris sadly, as he softly raked his fingers through her shiny blonde hair.  
They both gazed into each other's eyes for a few seconds – to both of them, it felt more like a few _minutes_.  
"I wish I could kiss you." He admitted softly. "But…"  
She nodded. "I understand why you can't."  
Not content with having to settle for a hug with her, he leant further forward, planting a sugar-soft kiss on her forehead.  
Bex felt herself get swept away from the soft contact.  
Chris wished the pair of them could just stay like that – continuing to gaze into each other's eyes and when they felt tired, went to sleep together. "I love your mum, Bex."  
She nodded sadly.  
"But I think I love you _more_."  
She swallowed hard. "Y-you're not thinking straight. You're going to miss me, that's why you're acting like this."  
"I wish that were true." He felt absolutely _tormented_. He loved Karen – more than anything. But seeing the state Bex was in was tearing him to pieces.  
"Chris…think it over." Bex pressed him, forcing him to look straight at her. "Give it a few more days without me, and you'll feel everything becoming much clearer."  
Chris felt himself frozen to the spot as she softly stroked him under his jaw. "We should start getting you over there now – as long as you've got everything together."  
She nodded softly.  
"Ok. Let's go then."


	81. Chapter 81

What the heck was going through Chris's mind?  
He lay awake in bed, unable to sleep, knowing that Bex would _also_ be lying awake where she was.  
_In a few days, everything will become clearer._  
He didn't _feel_ as though anything would become clearer without her. Why couldn't he shut those confusing feelings off like a switch and never have to turn them back on again?  
He felt tears try to make their way from behind his eyes and escape from the corners of them as he tried to work out what she'd meant.  
It was almost as though Bex no longer wanted a relationship – a _sexual_ one – with him. But why not?  
Chris simply put it down to her feelings being all over the place also – it couldn't be easy having to deal with suicidal thoughts on top of having some form of post-traumatic stress.  
But that was why he felt so drawn to her – her vulnerability. The fact that she needed _more_ protection than Karen ever did.  
And that was what he wanted more than _anything_ – someone to keep safe. To wrap them up, hold them close and reassure them that he was there.  
The only problem was the _stigma_ that would cause. The pair of them possessing a teacher-student relationship for one thing, which was _forbidden_ and he should know full well of that fact, and their difference in _age_. Sure, Chris was still very _young_, but he felt _awful_ at unintentionally falling for a much younger female.

But he and Karen – they were a perfect couple. Almost _too_ perfect.

It was flattering for everyone to think they looked good together and they would make such a cute pair, and that was all very well.

But what had put Chris was not the fact that he'd fallen out of love with her – but the fact that she'd continually _lied_ to him. Making them both out to be nothing more than lovers and then proceeding to tell everyone of their engagement.  
He knew why he felt so strongly about keeping it all a secret from the others, and that was because he really and truly felt for her as much as he said he did. And the myth that office romances never really worked out – well, he didn't want to go much further into _that_.

Chris flipped himself over onto his side, gazing out of the window and noticing how low down the moon was.  
He was starting to wish he hadn't have taken Bex back to that place at all.

Bex lay awake, curled up on her side; she'd covered herself up in the warm blanket Chris had given to her, burying her nose into it and taking in that reassuringly musky scent that always made her feel safe.  
She didn't know why she was reacting the way she was – she kept going over in her mind about what she'd said to him before they left to go to the mental hospital together.  
She closed her eyes, almost sensing him right over her, drawing his touch up against her and wrapping himself around her.  
What he said to her would not leave her thoughts.  
_I love your mum – but I think I love you more._  
Bex was sure Chris _was_ right next to her, but she didn't want to disappoint herself by opening her eyes to find herself in nothing but pitch black. She kept her eyes softly closed, happy to allow this illusion to keep going for as long as it wanted.

She felt warm, soft hands making their way up her body, dexterously working into her supple flesh and drawing softer strokes upwards. They all produced feelings that clouded realism and surrealism into one new perception. One that was taking her higher and making her not want to come back down again.  
The warmth turned into heat, wrapping itself around her protectively and not daring to let go of her. The sheer intensity penetrated her weakened, aching muscles, hitting areas that had gotten numb from shock.

Once that had subsided, Bex found herself close to drifting off, as the heat faded back to a subtle warmth and settled at her stomach. Settling more in amongst the bedding and pulling her blanket further against her, she drifted off to sleep.

"Bex…"  
She slowly woke up, finding herself flooded in sunlight.  
"You've got a visitor."  
"Can't they wait till I've come round more?" She indolently rubbed the sleep from her eyes.  
"I don't think this is one person who wants to wait for that." The nurse put to her knowingly.  
Managing to come round quite quickly by herself, she was stunned to see _Chris_ standing in her doorway.  
"Hey there, gorgeous." He teased lightly, sitting on the bed close to her and combing his fingertips through her hair to sort out her parting. "How's my special girl feeling?"

Bex closed her eyes at the feeling of him touching her the way he was. Something as subtle as that sent tingles down her spine. "Better now you're here."  
He smirked playfully. "Apart from _me_."  
"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be at work?"  
"Got the day off." He explained with a slight hint of cheekiness. He noticed her surprised expression. "Well…I didn't wanna work when it's a certain person's _birthday_."  
She gasped as Chris handed her a small envelope. "Y-you remembered?"

He nodded steadily. "How could I _forget_?"  
Shakily, Bex tore it open, revealing a glittery birthday card. "Chris, it's so pretty."  
"I kind of guessed you liked glittery things." He lowered his gaze coyly. "Was a bit stuck for something to write though."  
She read the inside of it, taken aback at what he wrote.

"To Bex,

When we're together or when we're apart, you're first in my thoughts and first in my heart. 

Happy birthday.

Lots of love,

Chris XXX"

She read the words over and over again.  
Chris grew worried when she did that. "Y-you don't like it, do you?"

"You really _thought_ of that?"  
"Well…" He cast his gaze away again. "I didn't really know what to _put_, and I was kind of missing you."  
"That's so _sweet_ of you." Bex breathed. She placed her hand on top of his, causing his heart to almost skip a beat. "Thank you."  
"Oh, it doesn't stop _there_."  
"A-a _present_?" She assumed brazenly.  
Chris smirked knowingly. "_Might_ be." He retrieved an equally glittery, yet meticulously wrapped, package that he'd placed by the nightstand.  
"Wow." Bex said, amazed. "You know I like my _glitter_."  
"Lucky guess." He shrugged.  
She felt like she was ten years old again; she excitedly tore the wrapping off, amazed at what she saw. "C-Chris…I can't accept this."  
He positioned himself behind her and delicately looped the fine yet sparkly chain around her neck; he tenderly did the fastening up, and made sure the glitzy yet small pendant had fallen into a nice position. "Perfect."  
"You bought this…for _me_?"  
He nodded, gazing at her softly.  
"Thank you." She breathed in surprise. 


	82. Chapter 82

"So how was your first night here?"  
"It was…ok, I guess."

Chris smirked. "You're exaggerating really, aren't you?"  
"Well, it wasn't easy getting off to sleep, but cuddling up to _this_ helped lots." Bex had wrapped the warm blanket around herself more, nestling down into it under the bed sheets.  
"Something tells me I'm not going to get that back." He noted teasingly. "Or am I being replaced by a _blanket_?"  
She smirked back. "Neither."  
Chris gazed at her carefully, not knowing if he should really mention that surreal dream he had the previous night. Would Bex end up thinking he was becoming as mentally unstable as _she_ was?  
"I really missed you." She admitted. "Not having someone to sleep next to kept me awake."

"You found it that hard?"

She nodded dimly, taken aback at the mixture of colours in the young male's eyes; violet fusing with emerald in the sunlight took her breath away.  
She felt her breath get caught in her throat when Chris brushed a stray wisp of blonde hair back behind her ear. "I dreamt about you."

"So did I." A chill slid down his back as they came closer together.  
"I don't think it meant anything though."  
"Some dreams _do_ happen for a reason though, don't they?"  
Bex had to agree with him there. "I don't have many of those."  
"What was your dream like?"  
She had to think about how she was going to describe it all to him. "It was almost like you were right there, leaning over me."  
Chris didn't really care _how_ graphic the whole thing was; he had a burning desire to know. "What did it feel like?"  
"Like I was on fire…slowly but surely on fire." Bex glowed inside at the feelings that pervaded her aching muscles. "And when that had gone, I felt like I was flying…" She noticed his confused expression. The whole thing sounded sexual, yet very surreal to him, and he wasn't sure he should really tell her _his_ dream at all.  
Unfortunately, she _wanted_ him to.  
"What was _yours_ like?"  
He flitted his gaze to the floor, unsure of how to start describing it to her. "It wasn't exactly a dream, but it was more like a mixture of feelings. Ones that I just couldn't shut off. Almost like I wanted to turn them off like a switch but couldn't quite get there."  
Bex nodded slowly. "So it wasn't a nice dream then?"  
Chris shrugged. "I don't know. I guess it felt good, but it was nowhere near as intense as the one _you_ had." He edged closer to her, liking the way the glitz from the pendant sparkled in the sunlight. "Did it bother you? If so, you should get the people here to give you something to help you sleep through it."

She shook her head. "I don't think it's something I want to stop."  
"Then what is it you wanna do about it?"  
Shyly, Bex reached out and cupped his face with one hand; she skimmed her thumb over his cheekbone, causing his pulse to quicken yet his breathing to slow.  
"You remember what happened last time." Chris told her steadily. "This can't happen."  
"But we both _miss_ each other." She protested. "Last night is proof of that."  
"But the fact still remains that we're just in too much of a compromising situation."  
"Your feelings are still all over the place?"  
He almost gasped when her hand placed itself on his. His perceptions of what was right and wrong were becoming blurred from the feelings going on inside of him. Why did it suddenly feel like something he couldn't control? "I guess they still are, but I think I know what I want."

Bex leant closer towards him, but he softly pressed a finger to her lips.  
"But what I want is something I can't have."

"Why not?" She wanted to know. "Are things with you and my mum still bad?"

Chris frowned. "What made you say that?"

"I don't want things to get complicated."  
"That's the problem, Bex." He relaxed when her fingers slid themselves through his dark bangs. "Things already _are_."  
"Then we'll _un_-complicate them. If you end it with her completely, we can get together…"

"But you still don't get it." He had to pull himself away, but it was getting decidedly hard for him to do so. "You would still be a student, I would still be a teacher. Those sorts of relationships are _forbidden_, I know enough to know that."  
"Then get rid of me." Bex put to him bluntly. "Then there's no problem."  
He shook his head. "I can't get rid of you. I don't wanna get rid of someone who has potential. If you were a complete _washout_, then maybe."  
She nodded dimly. "So your answer's no."

"I'll always be there for you to talk to, Bex. But I can't do any more than that." Chris admitted. "I wanna protect you. I wanna look after you and keep you safe and to be there for you paternally where your dad wasn't so."  
She swallowed hard, sensing the seductive sweet scent hovering around him.

"I do love you, sweetheart." He whispered softly, pressing his lips to her cheek. "But any slight hint of a _sexual relationship _going on with us by _anyone_ in the school, and both of us would be sent packing."  
"I understand, Chris…but I really want you and I'm aching inside to have you."  
He shivered from her sensual words and the tone in which she said them.  
"Can I not kiss you…do something to you to make you feel that I want you?"  
"Depends what you had _in mind_."

Bex softly slid her tongue along Chris's lower lip, causing him to shudder slightly. Liking his submissive reaction, she gestured for him to sit on the bed, and wrapping her arms around his waist, pulled him down on top of her. Their mouths sought out each other, their tongues hungrily plunging into each other's mouth and delving at the flavours inside.  
They slowly pulled away, as their tongues lashed against each other playfully.  
"So how was that?" She faintly asked him.  
"Not bad." He admitted, arching his back when her hand pressed into his lower back and pushed him down against her. His hips brushed her legs, causing the prominence between his legs to swell. A low whimper caught in his throat at the sensations he felt.

"You like that?" Bex taunted him, kissing him at his neck when her lips seductively brushed against it and drew the silkily supple skin upwards.  
"B-Bex…"  
"If you really love me, end it with my mum."  
"I can't just do that though."  
She gazed up at Chris tenderly, stroking him at the back of his neck. "After the way she's been treating you, do you really think you could keep your relationship going?"  
"Y-you heard that _spat_ we had?"

She nodded. "I know you've been trying hard to make it work with her, Chris, but I can treat you so much better than that."

"But the problems it'll cause…"  
"Ssh…" The stroking came softer and more reassuring. "No more worrying…it's over now."  
Unable to resist Bex's touch anymore, he submissively lowered his lips on top of hers, as she held him closer.  
"_I've_ got you now."


	83. Chapter 83

The next day.  
Chris stopped what he was writing, knowing immediately that Karen had come in; he didn't lift his gaze from the paper, just sitting stock-still at his desk.  
"I know what you're thinking." She told him slowly.  
"I'm thinking _all_ sorts right now."  
She realised he wasn't looking at her – eye contact with her was something he couldn't exactly do when he felt as wound up as he did. "Chris, I had no intention of hurting you."  
"I don't doubt that at all." He told her shakily. "But you still _lied_ to me. You kept this from me all this time…you had to realise it had to come out sooner or later."  
Karen nodded slowly. "We weren't thought of at the time though…why would I have a reason to have told you?"  
That time, Chris _did_ look straight up at her – there was a confrontation about it. If he had a problem with something, he would have no difficulty expressing it. "Maybe because I act up in your absence? I _am_ a deputy head – not an accessory."  
"I never said you were an accessory."  
"Then why treat me like that?" He looked to her, tears shimmering in his bright blue eyes. "I have an obligation to _know_ these things, Karen, it's part of my _job_."  
"I don't want to see us as just working together anymore though." Karen felt awful at seeing him upset. She didn't mean to hurt him, but it was something that couldn't be undone. She came closer to him as he sharply got up as if to make a point for her to go, and snaked her arms around his slender waist. "We're _together_ now, Chris. You and I. We _love_ each other. And we're getting married some time soon. We can forget about this, can't we?"  
Chris didn't seem sure. He shook his head sadly, feeling tears escape from under his eyelashes when he closed his eyes.  
"Hey…" She carefully placed a finger under his jaw, in order to get him to look at her. "Come on…we can go out together tonight if you want…try and clear the air between us."  
"There's nothing to clear anymore."  
She frowned at his answer.  
"It's over between us."  
Karen stroked him down his back a few times. "You're not thinking straight…you're upset."

"I'm thinking _perfectly_ straight, Karen." He admitted softly, opening his eyes to reveal two slightly misty blue pools.  
"We can start thinking about getting married…so we don't leave it too late."  
"Too late for _what_?" Chris pulled himself out of her embrace. "For you to spin up some _other_ lie?"  
"Chris…"  
"I dread to think what you're going to lie about _next_."  
She pulled him up against her, feeling him flinch and try to recoil out of her hold. "We can have the _best_ wedding ever. Even if it's just you and I. No one else."  
"That's not what I want anymore." He told her quietly. "I don't wanna have some picture perfect wedding…especially if you've been wanting to hold it off."  
Karen peered down at the floor.  
"I can't read you anymore, Karen." He admitted sadly. "Especially when you _lie_. It makes it that much harder for me to trust you."  
"B-but we do love each other, right?"  
"Of _course_ I love you. I couldn't ever feel any differently of you. But if lying is all you're ever going to do in our relationship, then we shouldn't be together."  
She didn't want to accept it.  
"I love you very, very much…don't ever doubt that." Chris told her. "And I'll always be there for you. But that's probably it between us."  
"This is wrong." She protested weakly. "You can't want to split up like this."  
He gazed at her steadily. "I don't _wanna _split up. This isn't easy for me either. But the wrong thing is your persistent lying."  
Karen loosely let him go, as he went to leave her.

Bex was supposed to be sleeping, but she was excitedly texting; Jess came in, happy to see that she seemed to be her normal self.  
"You look perky." She noted, sitting beside her on her bed. "New boyfriend or something?"  
"How did you guess?"  
"Girl thing, I suppose." She shrugged. "So come on, tell. Who is he?"  
Bex faltered as she gazed up at her younger sister.  
"You're not worried that I might not _like_ him, are you?"  
"No." She shook her head. "Nothing like that."  
"So tell then."  
Jess noticed her glitzy pendant. "Must think the world of you if he got you _that_." She noted, referring to that.  
"Oh. Yeah…" She said dreamily. "He's a sweet guy."  
She gave her a small envelope. "Sorry if this is a day late. Mum didn't entirely trust me to go out last night to come here."  
"Thanks, babe." She looked to her dotingly. She placed a hand on hers.  
"Bex, you sure things are ok?"  
She nodded surely. "Everything's fine." She smiled. "Just fine."

"Things with your new guy are ok, aren't they?"  
"Couldn't be better." Bex smoothed her thumb over the glitzy pendant. "Let's just say he's a big improvement from the _last_ one."

Chris was sure he was seeing things.  
Either it was from overtiredness or because of how dark it had gotten, but he could've _sworn_, out of the corner of his eye, that he saw Bex standing in his doorway.  
His uncertainty was answered when she came further into the room.  
"Working late?"  
"If it means me paying the _bills_…" He stopped what he was writing, surprised that she knew where he was and that he was there. "…And keeping all these lonely feelings away."  
Bex smiled softly. "Well I'm here now." She wanted to touch him, hold him and keep him close to her. "So you won't be lonely anymore."

"They let you out?"

"Well…" She flitted her gaze away. "After all those naughty texts you've been sending me, how could I not resist paying you a fleeting visit?"  
"Oh…so you had an ulterior motive." Chris smirked, turning to face her.  
"It was only a matter of time before I came here." She noted. "After trying your flat first and realising you weren't answering…process of elimination and all that."  
"You're crafty, Bex." His smirk became naughtier. "But I _like_ that."  
Feeling flattered by his comment.  
"Going to lengths like this to see me." His eyes glistened in the lights from outside. "I must _really_ be that worth it to you. I'm _impressed_."  
Bex perched herself on the corner of Chris's desk, gazing at him amorously. "You weren't planning on doing that all night, were you?"  
"Well…no." He hastily put the papers together and put them to one side. "I was going to get off soon."

"It's getting pretty late, isn't it?" She teasingly slid her finger up his chest.  
"Because there was something _else_ you could do." She winked saucily. "And you might be able to…_get off_ at the same time."

"Oh?" He pushed himself further out from behind his desk. "Might it involve _you_?" He sat back, as if inviting her to sit on his lap.

"Might do." She aimed her gaze at the spot in between his legs, noticing the start of his excitement that had caused a prominence under his trousers. Although he wasn't leaving much to the imagination with _those_. They accentuated the slenderness of his thighs and legs, which only excited her more.  
"In _that_ case…" Chris winked cheekily. "Care to climb on?" 


	84. Chapter 84

Bex slid herself off Chris's desk, gliding onto his lap; he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to his body. "Burning the midnight oil…honestly, Christopher."  
He usually didn't like being called by his birth name, but when it came to her calling him it in a teasing sort of way, well, that was different.

"So naughty…" She trailed an index finger along his jaw line, causing him to softly gasp under her. "Such a naughty little boy…"  
His eyelids felt heavy from pleasure, as she went to undress on top of him.

"Is it just us two in the building?"

He nodded dimly. "Everyone else has gone home."  
"More fun for _us_ then."

"Y-you wanna do it here?" Chris knew that was a silly question. Why else would Bex want to strip off on top of him?  
She nodded naughtily. "Unless…you want this to go slow."  
"Whichever."  
"Slow it is then." Smiling seductively, she lowered her lips on top of his, alternating between biting and sucking on it. Submissive whimpers dragged themselves out from his throat and he started to blush at his cheeks from pleasure. "I bet you've been missing this."  
He grabbed her by her legs, as she wrapped them around his waist; still kissing quite passionately, he lowered her onto the floor, giving her a tender kiss before moving away. "I-is the floor quite cold?"

Bex nodded slowly. "A bit."  
Chris got his jacket, positioning it under her so she didn't feel as cold. She shuddered with excitement at the thought of what they were going to do. They were going to have sex in his _classroom_!  
She gazed up at him adoringly, as he softly cupped her face with a hand and lightly stroked her under her eye with his thumb.  
"You look so beautiful from down there." He told her breathlessly, feeling his breath get taken away when she placed a hand around his wrist. He had a horrible feeling that none of what was happening was real at all, but a soft stroke at his wrist told him otherwise.

"You look beautiful from up there." Bex smiled softly.

Chris pulled his trousers away from his hips and down his legs; his boxers were the next to follow suit, and he slid himself onto her.  
She closed her eyes, as he twisted about a little on top of her.  
"I won't hurt you." He swept her hair back from her forehead. "You trust me, don't you?"  
She nodded.

Dutifully, he buried himself into her, feeling the insides of her body submit to his movement and then wrap around him. It was an electrifying feeling.

Once their excitement was over, Chris peered down at Bex, noticing she was asleep. It had gone past the time for her to be taken back to the mental hospital; surely one night at his wouldn't hurt?

He went to wake her, but she looked so peaceful that he didn't want to. He tenderly swept her long blonde hair back away from her sleeping face, and wrapped her up in his jacket. She seemed so relaxed and comfortable.

Carefully, he lifted her up into his arms, holding her close to him; she stirred a little and buried her head into her chest at sensing the contact.  
He laid her down in the back of his car after he'd locked up, and drove back to his place.

The next morning.

Bex felt the sun's rays shimmer warmly onto her skin; she found herself lying in something a _lot_ softer than the bed she slept in at the mental hospital. She rolled onto her back, nestling her head further into the pillow, taking in a familiarly sweet yet musky scent on it. One that made her feel sleepy again. "Chris…" She mumbled out.  
A hand swept itself through her hair, tenderly sweeping it back and allowing it to scatter across the pillow. "I'm right here." A familiar voice spoke softly.  
She slowly opened her eyes, seeing Chris position himself on the bed quite close to her. "But how did I…?"

"You _must've_ been tired." He noted softly. "You've slept for around 9 hours."

"You took me here?"  
He nodded.  
"But the mental hospital…"  
"Do you feel up to eating anything?"  
Bex was startled at him wanting to change the subject from where he'd taken her during the night to asking her how she felt. "Not…really."  
"You _sure_?"  
She nodded steadily. "Why did you take me back to yours for?"  
"Well the times for coming in to the place had long gone by the time we finished what we…did." Chris explained with a smirk. "And I know they wouldn't object to you not coming back for one night – as long as you come back _at all_, that is."

"I should think they would know I was coming back – all my stuff's still there."

"There you go then." He positioned himself on the edge of the bed, gazing at her but once she'd fixed her gaze to his, he shyly shifted it away onto the floor. "I don't know if you felt ok about coming out one night…"  
Her eyes flashed intently. "To do what? More of what we did last night?"  
His eyes glistened cheekily. "I meant more in the way of just…you know…going out for a talk. With me."  
"I guess so." Bex smiled softly. "Why not?"  
He was happy that she wanted to go out with him; he wasn't overly excited but enough to cause a few butterfly-feelings in his stomach. "I'd better get you back before they start asking where you are."

She nodded. "Thanks for last night."  
"You're welcome." Chris got himself ready quite quickly, as she got herself together also.

Chris didn't know _what_ Karen wanted to see him about.  
He certainly got more worried when she was standing in front of her desk, arms folded across his chest. "You wanted to see me?"  
She nodded steadily. "I thought maybe you could try to explain to me what went on last night."  
"Last night?" Confused, he flitted his gaze away. "I was working late, but you already knew about that. If it was because I didn't _tell_ you…"  
"It isn't so much about why you were there last night, Chris, it was more of a case of what you were _doing_."  
He shrugged. "I don't follow."  
A little impatient, Karen tilted her head towards the screen that was playing part of both Chris and Bex's suggestive moments. "_That_ was what I meant."

He swallowed hard, although he realised he didn't have to be _that_ nervous; the positioning of the shadows in the room at that time unintentionally eclipsed Bex. So she couldn't be seen by _either_ of them. "There was nothing going on that shouldn't have been, Karen."

"So what you're doing in that is normal, is it?"  
"If you're referring to the other person I'm with, then yes." He took on a more relaxed posture, knowing that Karen couldn't really catch him out with anything.

_He must've had this all planned out_, she thought icily.

"That happens to be my new girlfriend." He added.

"So is that what you always do during any after-school sessions? Having it off the way you did?"

"Well, I mean _you're_ one to talk – we did it in this very room when _we_ were together." Chris shot back.  
Undeterred, Karen knew she couldn't get him into trouble for anything. "So that one came free for _her_, did it?" She accentuated "her" with such utter jealousy it made him flinch. "Or did you charge her so she could get her money's worth?"  
"It was nothing like that." He shook his head. "You wouldn't understand."  
She backed off slightly, a sign that she'd tried and failed to outdo him; she was still resentful about him ending it with her the way he did, but he still felt something for her, and he wasn't being spiteful back to her. She wished _she_ was the lucky one he'd gotten instead of her.  
"If that was all you wanted me for…can I go now?"  
Karen nodded dimly. "I've finished with you _for now_."


	85. Chapter 85

Jess sat with Bex, as she started to pick out what she wanted to wear. "You don't want to go out looking _trashy_, babes."  
She smirked naughtily. "_You_ can talk, missus."  
"What about that black one?"

She grimaced. "Bit short, isn't it?"  
"Pretty, though." Jess noted. "Lots of glitter. And he knows you love that sort of thing."  
"Jess, I am _not_ going to go out wearing something that just about covers where the sun doesn't shine." She protested. "He's not going to want me going out looking like that."  
"Oh…so he's one of these _mature_ types, is he?" She quipped. "Wish you'd tell me who he was, all this suspense is_ killing_ me."  
Bex didn't want Jess to catch on so quickly. She didn't know what would happen if she found out – or for that matter, _when_ she would find out. "Well…would he be one of these mature types if he went and bought me…_this_?" She skimmed her thumb over the glitzy pendant.  
"Guess not." She had to admit. "But if he's planning on taking you out somewhere, then he's quite likely to want to _pay _for you."  
She shrugged. "Nice thought – but you're just getting my hopes up."  
"Tell you what." Jess started. "Why don't we both go out this Thursday – you and me – and get you something _better_ to wear?"  
"Are you saying all my clothes are trash now?" Bex smirked.

"No! No…but these are more ideal for when the weather's nicer."  
"Sure, Jess." She winked. "'When the weather's nicer'."

Thursday night.

Chris was quite lucky to have missed Jess and Bex coming back from their late night bender; he stayed very still and quiet in his car, making sure that he didn't miss Jess leaving so that he was safe to have gone in.  
He stood in Bex's doorway, and when she noticed he'd come in, she quickly hid her possessions down the side of the bed. "I didn't see, don't worry."

"You scared me."  
"Oh…well, that's me, isn't it – silent yet deadly." He smirked cheekily, positioning himself on the bed quite close to her.

"It isn't Friday yet." She was sure he'd forgotten.

"I know it isn't." Chris leant closer towards her, his lips dangerously hovering against hers. "But I still like to see you."  
Bex took in that familiar seductive scent, and she drew herself closer to him. There was an attraction neither of them could work out. "Have you worked your magic on the nurses yet?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"I mean getting them to let me out for a few hours." She smirked impishly. "I'm sure you'd have no problem with that, being as _cute_ as you are."  
He gave her a coy kiss on her cheek. "_Must _I?"  
"Go _on_…all you'll have to do is bat your eyelids at them." She winked. "You're good at doing that."  
Chris didn't have long to wait to have his chance at doing that, when one of the nurses came in to the room to check Bex over.  
Bex glanced at him knowingly.  
"Everything ok in here, you two?" She recognised the slight uneasiness between them.  
"Yeah…" Chris cast his gaze away shyly, not knowing how to go about it. What the heck, she could only turn round and say no. "I-is it ok if Bex stays out a little bit later tomorrow night? I know she's due back at certain times, but…"  
"That's not a problem." She told him, and she steadily turned to Bex. "Are you going to be ok sleeping tonight?"  
She nodded tiredly. "Should be fine."  
"Well at any time if you feel tired but can't drift off, give us a shout. Ok?"  
When the nurse left the room, Bex gazed over at him and smiled excitedly.  
"Wow." She remarked. "You didn't have to bat your eyelids at her at all. No coy looks. Nothing. Must be the puppy-dog eyes."  
"Well…" Chris begged to differ. "She must've fallen for the inevitable Mancunian charisma."  
"Ok, you've got me there." Bex tapped him on his thigh teasingly. "You win."  
He smiled playfully. "I guess they're going to start switching off the lights soon – as it's getting so late."  
She nodded sadly. "Which means you'd better go before they tell you off."  
"They can't tell _me_ off." His big blue eyes glistened innocently. "They can't resist my _cuteness_."  
"Yeah, you _are_ pretty cute, Chris." Bex noted. "But one day they'll see past that."  
"Ok." Chris got off the bed. "I know when I'm not wanted."

"Aww…I _always_ want you." She cupped his face tenderly. "So what time are you going to get here?"

"Well I'll text you tomorrow." He told her quickly. "I don't wanna bother you with what time you wanna meet up if you need to sleep."  
Bex smiled softly. "You're so sweet."

"That's my _job_." He winked.

Friday afternoon.  
Bex noticed her mobile flashing wildly out of the corner of her eye; she read the text that had come through, excited at who sent it.

"CAN'T WAIT TO SEE U. 7 OK? C. XXX -;(a)"

She felt her insides melt at the "rose" Chris drew. Ok, it was something most people draw in their text messages anyway, but to have it come from him was quite cute.  
She excitedly texted him back.

When it had come up to 6, Bex was _already_ starting to get ready; she couldn't _wait_ to see him.

She slipped the dress that she got the other day – she didn't try it on before buying it but it fit her _perfectly_.  
She didn't even know where Chris was going to _meet_ her. Her best bet was that he was intending on waiting in his car, but it had gotten quite cold and so he might've wanted to make sure she wasn't too cold when she got out.

Sure enough, he was waiting in the reception area of the mental hospital.  
"Expecting someone?"

He turned round in the direction of where the familiar voice was coming from, and he was _surprised_ at what he saw.

Bex had straightened her hair, but there was a nice shimmer to it – and looked to be in _immaculate_ condition. Her dress was blue and glittery, almost like Karen's when he and her had that bit of fun on Valentine's Day. Although the colour was different and the one Bex wore had a subtle slit up the side of it, which didn't go up too far. "Hope I look ok."

"Y-you look _perfect_." Chris admitted nervously, his eyes resting on her petite, yet well-formed, figure; the dress had accentuated her waist, which almost took his breath away. "Absolutely perfect."  
"So…" She let him snake his arms around her waist. "Shall we?"


	86. Chapter 86

Bex got into the front of Chris's car. "I've never been in the front before."

"Well you have now." He winked, before leaning forward and pressing his lips to her cheek; he smoothed his fingers through her unbelievably silky, straight blonde hair. "You've got such lovely hair." His accent lifted itself slightly due to how softly he spoke. "I could just sit here and stroke it all day."  
She felt a small blush starting at her cheeks. "You don't mean that…"  
"Oh, but I _do_."  
Their lips softly pressed together.  
"Don't you think we should go?" Bex eventually asked him as they withdrew.

When they both got to the bar, they were aware of a few quizzical glances from some people.  
"What do they want – a picture?" Bex scowled at them.  
"Ignore them." Chris assured her. "They're just jealous."

She smiled at the thought of that. It was something she didn't quite believe after _everything_ that had happened to her.  
"The other girls are jealous because they're not as pretty as _you_." He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her up against him.  
"And I guess the same goes for the guys…they're jealous because they're not as fit…" She inched her hands from his hips to the tops of his thighs. "Or as _cute_…"

She licked his lower lip teasingly, causing him to quiver. "…As _you_."

Both of them sat facing each other, mostly talking between themselves.  
"So I guess I kind of destroyed things between my mum and you." Bex cast her gaze away from Chris in a guilty way.  
"No, it _had_ to end eventually."  
"Chris, it's ok. You can blame me if you want. _I_ was the one who caused all of that."  
"Not when you look back at it." He reached over, stroking the inside of her wrist with his thumb. "Quite a few things contributed to it, you weren't the _main_ reason behind it all, Bex."  
Her eyes widened slightly. "What _sort_ of things contributed to it?"

He shook his head steadily. "I don't wanna have to bother you with that – not _tonight_, of all nights."  
"Come on…" Bex felt warm all over from the way Chris was stroking her. "We're together properly. And it's our first night of being able to talk to each other about more than just my _grades_."  
He drew in a deep breath. "She kept lying to me."  
"What about?"  
He closed his eyes softly. "Various things. I don't wanna go into any of it though."  
"Christopher. Tell me. Now." She put to him forcefully.  
He _hated_ being called that, but he knew she was only doing so in order to force him into telling her _everything_. It was something he hadn't expected her to ask him, but it was going to be hard to go into every single detail, as he hadn't spoken that openly to anyone about it.

Well, apart from _Tom_, but that was only during work hours and they were only _friends_. He and Bex were much more than that.  
"How bad can it all be?"  
"Bad _enough_." Chris gazed at her quietly. "But if you insist on me telling you…"  
She waited for him to start, hating herself for forcing him into talking about something he really didn't want to talk about.

"Your mum fell for me even when she was still married to your dad." He started, flitting his gaze away shyly. "I don't wanna have to tell you this, Bex, and it's not going to be easy to come to terms with, but your dad had been _assaulting_ her."  
She nodded shakily. "But how did you know about all this?"  
"She told me." He clarified, gazing back up at her. The soft light from the candles made his eyes sparkle. "She was going through such a rough time, and there was no one else she could've talked to about it."  
"Ok, so my dad abused her and she talked to you about it. Did you guys hit it off then?"  
He shook his head. "Not straight away. Things were quite bad between us even before the assaults started. Me and Jess…"  
Bex swallowed hard. "Y-you slept with my _sister_?"  
"Not _intentionally_." Chris didn't want to have to go through all of _that_ again. He felt awful for having to do so. "I didn't even know how old she was, Bex – I hate having to say this, but she was all over me."  
"Ok. I won't hold that against you. I know what she's like."  
He felt relieved about that. "Your mum called in sick. I had to act up in her absence, but she never let me know. So I went round there. Bex…she looked _awful_. She looked pale, she looked tired…I thought it was because of what happened between her and I, but she clammed up when I tried asking her." He peered down at the table sadly. "Little did I know it was anything as bad as her own husband _assaulting_ her."  
"Well that wasn't _your_ fault, Chris. If she wasn't being that open about it, that isn't your problem. It's _hers_ for keeping quiet about it."  
"I guess…"  
Bex stroked Chris at his wrists comfortingly. "You're a good person." She told him steadily. "I believe every word you're saying."  
"I wanted to take her out for a bit, you know? Try and get her to open up more about stuff that had gone on at home. She had to lie to your dad to lessen his suspicions, saying she had to work late. She told me that he didn't allow her to go out with anyone and she still mentioned nothing about the abuse. I knew something was up."  
She nodded steadily.  
He stalled a little, swallowing hard at the memory of seeing Karen the following day. It was a memory he wasn't likely to forget. "Your mum came in the next day. And I don't really wanna say this, but…"  
"Chris, it's ok." The stroking came more comforting and slow. "It's ok. I know you wouldn't make any of this up."  
"Bex, your dad _hurt_ her." Chris managed to say.  
Bex slowed her stroking.  
"I couldn't just stand by and let any more of that happen. I-I let her stay at mine for one night, and the next day she _kissed_ me."  
"You make it sound like it was something you didn't want."  
"Not at the time." He noted faintly. "If she was still married and hadn't even considered _divorcing_ your dad, it wouldn't have been right, would it?"  
She nodded in agreement.

"She was still getting assaulted, none of that stopped. So she said she would get rid of him and we started dating." He felt a tightness in his stomach, and he wasn't sure if it was the drink or from waiting too long for their order to come through. "Further down the line we got engaged but I wanted her to keep it quiet. We _work_ together, how would it have looked for us if the whole _school_ knew?"  
"And my guess is she didn't keep it quiet."  
"Like _hell_ she did." Chris _still_ felt indignant about that. In a way, someone who supposedly _loved_ him had betrayed him. He wasn't going to let that go very easily.  
"I don't blame you for getting annoyed about that, Chris." Bex assured him. "If you really felt for anyone and they lie to you like that, especially when it comes to relationships or feelings, your reaction _is_ understandable."  
"But it _hurt_, Bex." He protested. "And it still _does_."  
"What about after? Did you guys carry on even after that?"  
"Briefly." He admitted. "But all that did just basically showed up what our relationship came down to."  
"But Chris, I see the way my mum looks at you." She protested. "She loves you to bits."  
"But it's not that, that was the problem." He told her. "The problem was she'd lied too much to me and to everyone else. And she expected too much of me."  
"What do you mean?"  
Chris felt warm and relaxed from the way Bex was stroking him. He gazed at her for quite a while. She didn't seem like the sort of person who would lie to him or anyone else, or take him for granted. "Because we were engaged to each other and felt so much for each other, she assumed I would be able to fork out enough for some picture perfect wedding."  
"But that's silly." She told him. "No one can think like that."  
"But _she_ did." He dreaded to think what would happen if they couldn't have been able to have a fairytale wedding. Heck, Karen was his _boss_; she could've _demoted_ him over it for all _he_ knew.

"Chris…" She got him to look at her. "I know we haven't been together that long, and you still have feelings for my mum, however small they are, but if you _really_ love her…you should get back with her."  
"Not when she expects too much of me." Chris noted quietly. "I don't wanna be seen like that. As long as _she _was happy, then so was I. I could only do so much for her." 


	87. Chapter 87

Chris felt slightly better after opening up to Bex about things between Karen and himself; he'd gone very quiet, seemingly focussing his attentions on the window behind her.

"So what happens with us now?"

He hadn't honestly been thinking that much about the situation between _them_. "The main thing is to keep this secret from your mum and sister."  
"So basically everyone." She smirked.

"Oh. Well, yeah. Even the _school_ can't know of this." He only just managed to get off scot-free with that CCTV footage, which showed _every_ single detail of that very passionate night between them. "Wouldn't look good on my CV, would it?"  
Bex found that funny. "Might show up as a tiny black mark."  
"If we're both trying to keep it as secret as that, the only other time I'd be able to see you would be at the mental hospital during visiting hours."  
She shrugged. "But all that depends on how long I'd be _staying_ there."

"Till the treatment starts working, I'm guessing." Chris realised that was a point. "Have they tried anything with you, while we're talking about that?"  
She drew in a deep breath. "All they've gotten me to do so far is sleep."  
"You've had no _therapy_ as of yet?"  
"Maybe they're not thinking of doing anything like that with me."  
"They _should_ do something, Bex." He frowned a little. "Assault isn't something anyone would take lightly. Especially when you've been trying to deal with it the way you have."  
Bex peered down at the table sadly. "Maybe what I did had a point to it all, Chris."  
"No, don't think things like that." He shook his head, stroking the insides of her wrists with his thumbs. "What good ever came out of that?"  
She drew in a deep breath.  
"If you don't feel comfortable telling me _now_, you can always tell me when we get back." He suggested.  
"I'd feel better if we did it _that_ way."  
Chris _twigged_ that she would feel better about doing it that way; being in a public place where anyone could pick up their conversation was not the best idea. Especially when the conversation involved self-harming and suicidal thoughts – it was certainly something that would raise a few eyebrows, some hurtful comments – and worst of all – a provocation of the stigma that came with mental illness.  
"Straight after this, you can either come back to mine or I can drive you straight back to the hospital. Whichever you wanna do." He suggested. "I know _my_ place is probably better as it'd just be us two and we wouldn't have any intrusions."  
"As long as you take me back to the hospital." Bex smirked. "I don't think they'd be too impressed if I didn't come back again like before."  
"Don't worry, the talk's not going to progress into full-blown _sex_."

Bex sat very still at Chris's place, not wanting to look directly at him; he positioned himself next to her, unsure if he should touch her due to the shocked state she seemed to have wrapped herself up in.

"Talk when you feel ready." He assured her.

She swallowed hard. "Self-harming isn't an easy thing to own up to doing though."

"No." He could honestly say he'd never tried anything like that. But he was aware of the reasons why people did so. Usually through anger or feelings that they couldn't cope. He was interested to know as to the reason why Bex felt so compelled to do it.  
"It wasn't as though I couldn't cope, but it was more a case of _punishment_."

"You felt you had to _punish_ yourself?" He assumed. "But…_why_?"  
She expected Chris to ask her why. "My dad isn't my proper dad, Chris."  
His eyes dimmed over in confusion. He obviously didn't know what she was getting at.  
"My birth father is somewhere else."  
"Bex, I…" He came closer to her. "I didn't know. I'm sorry…"  
"That's _life_, isn't it?" Bex felt the tears start to shimmer in her eyes, and she held them back for as long as she could.  
"Do you know much about him?"  
"Enough to know he'd been in and out of _prison_ a few times."  
"…So he isn't that nice then." He wrapped an arm around her waist. "You have nothing else on him, no name or where he lives?"  
She shook her head tiredly. "If I'd have known about any of that, I would've found him by now."  
Chris didn't exactly know how to help. "The trauma of being sexually assaulted _isn't_ the only thing you've to put up with." He really _felt_ for her. Having to have such a secret kept from her for so long must've complicated the trauma even further. "The staff at the mental hospital…do they know of this?"

"How can I possibly _tell_ them, Chris?" Bex protested. "They would only see me as a mistake, wouldn't they?"  
"You can't think like that." He noted. "You being _alive_ does not constitute you being a mistake. Your mum loves you to bits and if she didn't, she wouldn't still have you."  
She shuddered a little.

"Bex, this is something you feel _very_ strongly about. Your mum decides to lie to you to cover up your real heritage. Why don't you ask her?"  
"I've _tried_." She wept. "I've tried so, so hard…"  
"…And?"  
She shrugged. "She only _lied_ to me. I asked her twice, she gave me a different name on both occasions."  
Chris feared something truly _awful_ had happened. "Which could mean she knows and doesn't wanna tell you, or she doesn't know herself – either of those doesn't sound good."  
Bex looked to him, tears glistening in her eyes. "Sometimes I've felt so bad about this sort of thing, I just feel like…I don't know. Disappearing."  
"In terms of ending your life, I take it."

She shook her head. "Just disappearing for a few days and then coming back again."  
"A lot of things _are_ going through your mind, and I can understand that." He assured her. "I know what you're getting at, you wanna go somewhere and clear your head. Try and get some form of clarity. But that's something the place you're in can help you with."  
"What, talking to a shrink only to have them tell me to forget about him?" She didn't want to go along with what Chris was suggesting. "I can't do that. I just can't."  
"Bex, I _know_ you want answers to this." He told her softly. "And I can understand the mixed-up feelings you have. But if your mum isn't keen to wanna tell you this, the likelihood is that she might not _ever_ tell you. And that's something you're just going to have to _deal_ with."  
Bex sniffled sadly. "You're making it sound like you don't care."  
"I _do_ care." He admitted. "I care a lot about what this is all doing to you. You're going through a lot of tension, a lot of unanswered questions…but if you tell the staff about this, they'll treat you as more of a priority."  
"W-will you tell my mum about what I said?"  
"Not if you don't want me to." Chris reassured her. "But you're not getting anything good out of self-harming or overdosing yourself on anti-depressants. Enough damage has already been done."  
"You can understand me feeling like being a mistake though, can't you?"  
He nodded steadily.  
"A mistake that should be quickly _removed_."  
"These sorts of thoughts and feelings have _got_ to stop." He told her softly. "You know, I didn't know anything about any of this, but _I_ don't feel any differently of you."  
Bex shrugged, as she blew her nose on the tissue he gave to her. "But you're used to it, aren't you? _Lots_ of kids have probably talked to you about similar situations like mine."  
"Well, no, not really." Chris admitted. "You're the first one who's ever spoken to me about this."  
"Some people won't be _so_ forgiving, will they?"  
"But that's up to them, Bex, isn't it?" He assured her. "The main thing is that you've got a family who loves you, very much. And there _other_ people who love you just the same. And the staff at that place care enough about you to want to help. So don't think of yourself as a mistake, ok? Because you're not." 


	88. Chapter 88

At work the next day.

Chris answered an incoming call on his mobile. "She's done _what_?"

Karen almost jumped out of her chair when he rushed in. "What is this all about?"  
"It's Bex." He told her shakily, although trying to remain calm. "Something's happened."  
She raised an eyebrow at how anxious and unnerved Chris had gotten. He was _rarely_ like that. Whatever it was obviously wasn't good.  
"She's run away."

"Not again…" She found her muscles get heavy, and he slid up to her, placed his hands on her and tried to get her sitting back down again.

"It's better if you stay here." He told her steadily. "Especially in the state you're in."

"But you're not going after her, are you?" Karen asked him. "You don't even know where she _is_."  
"Karen…" Chris hastily got his car keys out. "I'll have to go to the hospital and find out a bit more about this. Bex is not going to just walk out and go anywhere at the drop of a hat. She's going somewhere specific."  
"Like where?"  
He shrugged. "She said she wanted to _disappear_…" Fears of Bex throwing herself off a _bridge_ came to mind, but he didn't think she could go to _that_ sort of extreme. "I don't _know_ where, but try and relax and stay here, ok? I'm going to get her back for you and I don't care how long that takes."

A nurse took Chris through to where Bex was staying. "She didn't really take a lot…apart from some money and a few credit cards. Oh, and she took her _passport_."  
He swallowed hard. His first guess was that she would've taken a _flight_, but where would she go? He realised the train station wasn't that far. "If she _does_ come back, make sure she doesn't leave again. She's done this before."  
"Should I call the police?"

"No." That would certainly make things worse. "For now, just keep on the lookout for her. I think I know where she is."

Bex started to feel sick.

She hadn't taken many painkillers, but the ones that she'd already ingested were starting to make her feel sick.

It wasn't long before her train was going to arrive, even though it had been delayed for little over ten minutes. Ten minutes would soon fly by though.  
She could hear familiar voices through the exhaustion and nausea, and she was sure the overdose effects were already kicking in.

She hazily turned round in the direction of the voice, but couldn't make the owner of that voice out.  
"Bex…" Chris managed to catch her before she hit the ground; he noticed she dimly looked up at him, but there was no acknowledgement. He realised she needed _water_, else she would end up extremely dehydrated.  
Another male rushed up to them and handed a bottle of water to him. "I've got some water here."  
He thankfully took it from him, and after slipping it into her mouth, started to tip it into her throat. "It's ok, you'll start feeling better in a few minutes."  
Within a few minutes, Bex started to come round, and she found Chris peering down at her, worried. "What happened?"

"Wish you could ask me the same thing." He was a little relieved that she sounded a bit better. "Thought we lost you then."  
She felt her stomach ache a little, but not as much as before.

"You _took_ something, didn't you, Bex?"  
"Why did you _stop_ me?" She sounded extremely frustrated. "I _meant_ to take something."  
"I couldn't help you _die_." He protested. "How would _that_ look?"  
"My train is due soon, Chris." Bex felt Chris's grip on her tighten. "So you won't have to worry about me anymore."

"My _job_ is to worry about you, you've got people who care about you." His eyes came over a little hard. "Where are you planning on _going_? You can't just disappear off the face of the planet without telling anyone."

"I need to find my dad. My _real_ dad."  
"You can't do that if you don't know where he is."  
She flashed her credit card in front of him. "Then I'll just go all over the country – till I find him."

"Bex…" Chris helped her up. "You're not thinking straight from all the trauma. Let me take you back to the mental hospital, yeah? Get them to help you."  
"What, shove me in a room with a shrink who hardly knows what I've been through?" Bex mocked. "Some good that'll be."  
"You're not thinking clearly. Taking things to make you sick is proof of that."  
"But it was to numb the pain."  
"So you're through with punishing yourself then." He wasn't letting go.  
"Not exactly." She shrugged. "It was to numb the pain for when I was going to throw myself under the train – which is due very shortly."  
He got his mobile out, which she noticed. "If you're as serious about doing that as you say you are, then I'm going to have to get help from other people. People who will _stop_ you."  
"I'm _serious_, Chris. I will do it." She edged backwards, getting increasingly closer to the edge of the platform. "I don't want you to try to stop me."  
"Then I'll get some help. You can't deal with this on your own, you're not coping."  
"Don't you think that's why I'm _doing_ this?" Bex cried out.  
Chris swallowed hard. "I can take you back right now, if you want. You coping on your own stops here, if you let me take you…"

They could hear the train swiftly approaching; Bex edged further towards the edge.  
"Bex…" He started. "If you throw yourself off, I'm going to have to come after you."  
"Don't be stupid." She put to him, incredulous. "You'll get _killed_. The whole point of this was for _me_ to get killed, not _you_."  
"Then you would see doing this is a stupid _idea_."  
The train came closer; she was still dead set on carrying it out. "Chris, I'm sorry. But I'm doing this." She threw herself off, amid a crowd of gasps.  
The young male went down after her, and quickly pulled her away; he pressed her up against him, feeling her shiver all over as the train swiftly and narrowly passed them. "It's over." He assured her, sliding his fingers through her hair. "It's over now."

Chris wrapped an arm around Bex, as both of them were helped back onto the platform; he kept a firm grip on her, when the emergency services arrived to take them away.  
"Don't worry about me." He wasn't really hurt, apart from a few scratches when he pulled her away. "I'd be more worried about _her_."  
Bex was taken into the back of the ambulance, where a blanket was placed over her; she noticed he was leaning against one of the back doors, gazing at her anxiously. "You didn't have to come after me."  
"I _had_ to." He admitted weakly.  
She shivered from the fright of it all.  
"I still don't think any less of you, Bex." Chris told her. "But the things you've been doing to yourself stop here."  
"I'm sorry…"  
"You shouldn't have to be sorry, ok?" He got his mobile out. "I'll have to call your mum – so she knows you're safe."


	89. Chapter 89

Karen sped up to the mental hospital as soon as she could.

She came across Chris, who was loitering about in the reception area. "How is she?"  
"She's fine – still in one piece."  
She nodded shakily. "Maybe I should see her – "  
He grabbed her by her wrist. "The doctors are talking to her. I said I would stay with her for a bit soon after."  
"I'm her _mother_, Chris." Karen protested. "Do I not get a say in this?"  
"I didn't even know you were planning on coming _up_ here. So don't you dare try to assume I didn't wanna let you see her." Chris shot back. "If you had any idea what had happened to her, you wouldn't be _speaking_ to me like that."  
"Hope I'm not interrupting anything." The doctor came from between them. "But I've done as much with Bex as I can for now. So you're quite welcome to see her."  
He went to go to her room, but Karen's voice stopped him.  
"You're not her _father_, Chris."  
He felt that stab in his chest. "She wants to see _me_, Karen. You can see her after, it's not a problem."  
Impatiently, she sat herself down in the reception area, unable to resist feeling resentful that Bex seems to want to talk to _him_ than _her_.

"How are you feeling?" Chris positioned himself on the bed quite close to her; he slid his fingers through her blonde hair, which had been swept back from her face.  
"A bit better, I guess."  
"What have they done for you since being taken here?"  
She couldn't really think that clearly. "I know that they've taken the rest of the drugs out of my system. I've been moved up the list for counselling as well."  
"Good." He squeezed her hand reassuringly. "See, I told you that once you'd explain the _other_ attributes of the trauma, they would treat you more as a priority case."  
Bex nodded faintly. "Was that my mum outside?"  
Chris smiled softly. "She's worried about you."  
"I don't want to see her."

"Don't you think you _should_ let her see you, Bex? She's going to wanna know if you're ok."

"I'm _fine_." She retorted. "I don't need to tell anyone else but _you_ about that."  
He gazed at her carefully. "Is it still because she's _lied_ to you? Keeping the whole "paternity" thing a secret from you?"  
She closed her eyes and nodded.

"Maybe she wanted to protect you though." He suggested. "I mean, there might be a practically harmless reason for it."  
"Are you backing her up?"  
"No, but I'm just saying that maybe you should cut her a bit of slack. She's not told you everything and there might be more to this than she's letting on."

Chris came out, prompting Karen to get up. "You can see her now."

"Thanks."  
"What for?"  
She gazed at him shyly, noticing his expression had become blank. "For doing what you did to help her."  
"I just did what anyone _else_ would have done." He replied unassumingly.  
"What, stepping out in front of a train in order to pull her away from it?" She smiled a little. She placed a hand on Chris's arm, feeling him flinch. "You're a very brave person, Chris. I'm going to be forever in your debt."  
Chris swallowed hard as Karen withdrew from him and went to see her.

Later on that night.

Chris was stirred out of his exhaustion by his mobile vibrating on the nightstand; he drowsily answered, startled to find that _Bex_ had called him. "Can't sleep?"  
"Not very well, no."  
Weakly, he sat up against the bed's headboard. "Ask them if you can take something for it, Bex. They won't let you keep yourself awake at night."  
"I wanted to talk to you, Chris." She explained bluntly.

"O-ok…" He flitted his gaze to the blankets. "Don't know what _about_."  
"Well I didn't want to wait till tomorrow for when you come over."

"Can it still not wait?" Chris felt his eyelids get heavy again.  
"Well…no. I wanted to ask you a question. But I don't want you to think I'm being…too forward."  
"Bex…" He smirked a little. "I don't wanna _marry _you, if that's what you're getting at."

She knew he was only teasing with her.  
"Ok, well…ask away."  
There came a pause at her end. "Forget it. It's going to sound too forward and it'll sound all wrong."

"I can't possibly think that if you don't tell me, silly."

"Ok. Well, I want you to _adopt_ me."  
Chris had to make sure he heard her right. If Bex wanted him to _adopt_ her, that meant that his relationship with her would be pretty much _void_. He swallowed hard, trying to take it in. "A-are you sure?"

"I don't feel like I can entirely trust my mum anymore, but I know I can trust _you_."  
"B-but Bex…our relationship would have to stop. We can't exactly go out with each other if I'm going to be your adoptive parent."  
"You don't want to do this, do you?" She sounded crestfallen.

"I want nothing more than to _protect_ you and keep you safe. And if you feel like your mum can't _give_ you that, I don't mind. If this is what you want…"  
"I'm _sure_."  
"I'm guessing I have to _fill_ something out, do I?" He assumed. "Like a _form_ of some sort?"  
"I can get those." Bex offered. "I know where I can get them."

"…Ok." Chris didn't know where that was all going. "We can go through them together tomorrow, ok? I've got to get to sleep. Make sure you do the same."  
"Thank you."  
"Just get some sleep now, Bex."

The next day.  
Chris grew worried when Karen came to see him; he was in quite early so he could take his mind off what Bex had asked of him. It was an _immense_ thing to have asked of him, but that didn't mean to say it was hardly _viable_.  
"I just wanted to apologise for my outburst last night." She explained.

"Oh. That's ok…" He kept his pen poised, as he gazed up at her blankly. "She's better now, that's the main thing."  
"She didn't seem to want to talk to me though." She looked to him, tears shimmering in her eyes. "Have I done something _wrong_, Chris?"  
He quietly gasped at seeing Karen in such a worried state; inwardly, he wanted to say that, yes, she _had_ done something _terribly_ wrong. Something _so_ wrong that it had made Bex not trust her anymore. But he said nothing to that effect. He got out of his chair and helped her to perch herself on the nearest desk. "Give her some time, ok? She's gone through a lot of shock."  
"Does she not _love_ me anymore?"  
"Come on, you shouldn't be jumping to conclusions. She's still not thinking clearly. It'll be some time before she does." Chris knew that if he mentioned to her _anything_ about Bex wanting him to adopt her, god only knows where that would've gotten him. He decided to keep the conversation and his answers as neutral as he could. That was the only way to avoid the suspicions.  
"She seems to think clearly enough when _you're_ with her." Karen pointed out.

"She was still quite confused when I was there with her." He admitted. "She's got people who can _help_ her, ok? She'll be her normal self in no time."


	90. Chapter 90

Bex waited eagerly for Chris to arrive later on that afternoon; she knew he was finishing a little bit earlier than usual, and she felt butterflies in her stomach at the thought of him seeing her.  
True to his word, he came in and sat down on the bed quite close to her. "Did you get the…?"  
She showed him the one-page form. "Don't worry, it's quite short so it won't give you a headache."  
He smirked. "Very funny."  
"Chris?"  
He gazed at her attentively.  
"I know that once you fill this out, get it sent off and have the adoption approved, we won't be able to have a sexual relationship anymore…so can we do it one last time?"

"Well…we could, but surely there's another way of going about this." He explained. "I mean there's _another_ way of doing this without having to end our relationship."  
"What, having an incestuous one instead?"  
"No, silly." He smirked. "You can get _emancipated_."  
"I've not heard of that." Bex tilted her head. "Sounds painful."  
Chris couldn't help but find that a little funny. "It's where you get to have your rights to be completely free. Nothing would oblige you to be a _minor_. So your mum would have no entitlement to knowing where you went, what you did, whatever."  
"So I would be _free_?"  
He nodded. "As good as." He placed a hand on top of hers. "Which in effect means that we can still be together. And if the worst _does_ come to the worst and we were to _end_ it, then I can _still_ adopt you. Or be your legal guardian. That's only if you still wanted me to look after you."  
Bex nodded slowly. "So really you're just using a loophole."  
"It's not a loophole, Bex, it's something to fall back on if the relationship didn't completely work out."  
"But things between my mum and you aren't exactly going to be helped by this."  
Chris stroked her through her hair. "I don't _have_ to work for her anymore if that be the case." He loved the way her eyes sparkled in the dim light. "She doesn't have to know about any of this, and even if she does, I can go somewhere else. Of course, there's always the chance that my _reference_ from that place won't be that good."

She smiled from his comment. "Another loophole I hear coming from you?"  
He smirked playfully. "Is that your favourite word now?"

They both decided to get back on point.  
"We can still go through with me adopting you, but that means no naughty stuff between us. No sex, no kissing, no fun like that of any kind. Or you can apply to get emancipated. And you can qualify for that as you're in a relationship with an adult." He explained. "And if you're under eighteen…which I'm unsure of."  
"I'm seventeen."  
"Wow." Chris breathed. "Me in a relationship with a girl who's _ten years_ younger than me. That _is_ a shock to the system."

Bex loved it when he joked like that – he sounded almost _sarcastic_, which was strange, as he seemed like a normally unassuming person.  
"I can always leave this up to _you_, Bex." He suggested. "After all, I don't wanna sign something and in effect sign away part of your life."

She nodded slowly.  
"It's going to be a hard decision, either way you look at it." He admitted.

"Maybe it's better if I _do_ decide this myself."  
"Else it's not fair on you." Chris handed her back the blank form. "If you can get the other form to be emancipated, then you can go through both of them at your own pace. See what benefits you more. Does that sound fair?"  
"Yeah, I guess so." Bex admitted reluctantly. "We're going to be disadvantaged in some way."  
"In _some_ way, yeah, but again, we can always decide to go for both, one after the other. I can adopt you first, end that and get you emancipated, or vice versa."  
She nodded steadily.  
"I'll still love you the same, no matter which of the two you decide to go for." He reached out and smoothed her blonde hair with his fingertips.  
She felt sleepy from the way he was stroking her; it was almost soothing, hypnotic. "I did just think of something…"

"What's that?"  
"I think I can safely say that the feelings I had…I can put them down to the way my mum had kept my parentage secret."

"Well, whatever." Chris put to her. "It certainly would've contributed to the trauma."

Bex smiled softly at him. "You don't think I'm crazy, do you?"  
"No, of course not, sweetheart." He assured her. "It's fair to say you're _unwell_, but I would never, _ever_ say you're crazy or unstable." He took her into an embrace.  
She felt a release as he wrapped his arms around her – he made everything better. She felt no more pain, no more distress, when he stroked her down her back with a finger. "You've been so good to me, Chris…either way, I know you'll look after me."

"I know that's what you want." He closed his eyes as their bodies pressed up against each other. "Which is why I want you to decide this for yourself. If you're going to be able to have your own rights, I want you to have a right in being able to do so – not have an adult to decide this for you."  
Bex withdrew from Chris. "I think I want you to adopt me."

"A-are you sure? You don't wanna sleep on it?"

She shook her head. "It'd be better for us. When I turn eighteen, the adoption would pretty much be void, wouldn't it?"

"Well, yeah…"  
"And then instead of applying for emancipation, which I would be deemed too old for, I can immediately start going out with you."  
He nodded slowly. "I guess that makes sense…"  
She handed him a pen. "Does that sound ok to you?"  
"Bex…" He'd already pressed the tip of the pen to the first box he had to fill in. "This is _your_ decision. Not mine. Doing it that way will probably work out better."  
Bex smiled softly.  
"I'm going to sign it and date it and then there's no going back after that." Chris told her. "Are you still sure this is what you want? This is what your gut feeling is telling you?"  
She nodded. "I'm sure."


	91. Chapter 91

Karen was getting ready to go to bed later that night; there was something Chris was not telling her about Bex. But of course, he knew a lot more than her, Bex confided him about _most_ things – they were the best of friends, she thought bitterly. It was strange how _they_ seemed to be getting along better than she ever did with him. She couldn't help but find that suspicious.  
"Everything ok, mum?" Jess was standing in the bedroom's doorway, gazing at her worriedly.  
"Why should _you_ care?" Which was partly true. Jess didn't really care about her as much as _Bex_ ever did. But that was before all those problems started.  
She came closer to her, and perched herself on her bed. "You look tired."  
"I _am_, Jess." Karen admitted steadily. "Tired with _anger_."  
"Why?"  
She relaxed a little when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Go to bed, love. Don't worry about me."  
"Is it things between you and dad?"  
She knew that she _had_ to own up at some stage. "Your dad and I split up some time ago. I met someone else."  
"It's ok, mum. I already knew you were seeing someone else." Jess explained. "Did they hurt you?"  
Karen shook her head tiredly. "You need to sleep…you've a got a baby to look after."  
"You're more important to me now." Jess assured her. Her eyes inadvertently flitted to a sparkle at her chest; she looked to see a pendant, similar to what Bex had been given, hanging from a fine chain, around her mother's neck. "Did they give you that?"  
"Why, do you want it?" She offered. "You can have it if you want."  
"It's just that Bex had something similar to that." She noted. "Same sort of sparkle, everything…"  
She turned to face her, intrigued.  
"She said her boyfriend got her it."  
"Oh, did he?" Karen felt a stab in her chest. "What more do you know about him?"  
"Nothing much." Jess said honestly. "She wasn't being very forthcoming about who he was."  
That was all she needed to know. There was no doubt, in her mind, that she knew who it was.  
"…Were you and Bex dating the same guy, mum?"  
She swallowed hard. "I'm starting to think I _had_."

After checking over the form several times, Chris folded it up and Bex gave him the pre-paid envelope she picked up for him. "So we should hear something back about that soon."  
"What's going to happen? It's not going to be as straightforward as getting it valid, is it?"  
"Bex, don't worry about anything. Leave the adult stuff to me, ok?"  
She nodded weakly. "I just don't want you and my mum falling out over this."  
His eyes widened with worry when he saw her eyes glisten with tears. He didn't want her to get upset. Not now.  
"Hey…" Chris took her into his arms. "We're not going to fall out over this, sweetie. I'll still love your mum and try to be there for her, but you'll be my main _priority_ once this gets validated."  
"I want the pain to stop, Chris…so, so much. Being with you will stop that." Bex closed her eyes, giving in to the young male's touch as he stroked her down her back.  
"I know. And it _will_ stop." He assured her; he gazed over at the time. "It's getting pretty late now."  
She looked to him, her eyelids feeling heavy and hanging partly over her tired eyes.  
He smiled softly. "And _you're_ getting pretty _tired_, young lady."  
"I want you to stay here with me tonight."  
"I've got my _own_ bed." Chris wrapped the blanket he gave to her around her, before pulling the bed sheets up over her body. "And I don't think the staff here will like me staying here for the night."  
"Aww." Bex felt warm inside as he swept her blonde hair back, allowing it to scatter over the pillow. "Just bat your eyelashes at them – I know that doing that works."  
He said nothing to that remark, but he carefully stroked her along her eyelashes with an index finger, gently pulling the eyelids down to make them feel heavy. "I can stay with you till you fall asleep – which won't be very long from now."  
"As long as you'll be here when I wake up."  
He smirked playfully. "I can't guarantee that, you know. I have got _work_ the next day."

Bex softly gasped as Chris pressed his lips against hers. She gazed up at him hazily, as he kept the stroking along her eyelashes going. "B-but I thought we couldn't do that."  
"Up to the time the adoption comes into effect – there's no harm in it." He admitted softly, planting a kiss on her forehead. "Feeling nice and sleepy?"  
She nodded drowsily.  
"Good. That's what we want." He watched her eyelids try to stay up in resistance to the strokes, only for them to feel heavier and close over her eyes.  
She mumbled something incoherent, as she settled further into the blanket and the bed sheets and relaxed. The fading yet still strong musky, sweet scent on the blanket became almost soporific, letting her drift off into a deep sleep.

The next day.  
Karen peered up to see Chris come in to the room. "Is this a social call?"

"No." He replied blankly. "Why _should_ it be?"  
"I thought maybe you and I could start socialising a bit more, now that you and my older daughter have gotten on so well." She put to him icily.  
"You mean _Bex_?" He assumed, trying to pretend that he wasn't aware of their close connection.  
"You know full _well_, Chris. Don't think I don't know what's been going on." She undid the chain from around her neck. "Now answer me straight. Did you or did you not buy a similar pendant for her for her birthday?" The glint from it sparkled into his eyes frostily.  
Chris hadn't expected her to find that out. But he still decided to play it cool. "Could be just a coincidence that someone else apart from me got it for her."  
"Like her new _boyfriend_, I take it?" Karen assumed. "But of course, you wouldn't happen to know anything about that."  
"Karen, what Bex does is of no concern to me."  
"Even though you two get on like a house on fire." She begged to differ, coming closer to him and driving him up against the wall. "Still so sure about that now?"  
He swallowed hard. "O-ok. So her and me have been seeing each other. Does that make you happy now?"  
She backed off slightly.  
"We started going out after I ended it with you. So don't worry, I didn't cheat on you with her."  
"Y-you've slept with every single female member of my family." Karen was shocked at all of that. "So it _was_ Bex you were making love to in that…recording."  
"So what if was?" Chris noticed her lean against the front of her desk. "Karen, we were both full aware of what we were doing. We _love_ each other."

"So you love _her_ as much as you did for _me_?"  
"I still _do_ love you, don't change the subject." He flitted his gaze to the floor. "Thing is, she wanted _protection_."  
"So did _I_."  
"That wasn't the only thing she wanted." He protested. "She wanted someone who could make her _feel_ better. Who she could open up to about _anything_. Who would understand what she'd been through."  
"I could've given her any of those things, Chris, I'm her _mother_." Karen tried to warn him off. "What gives you that right to involve yourself with her like that?"  
"If you knew _anything_ about what that poor girl has been through…she wouldn't be asking me to _adopt_ her, would she?"  
"_What_?" Chris's revelation had shocked her all the more. "Sh-she wants you to _adopt_ her?"  
"I-it wasn't an easy thing to agree to, but yeah." He gazed at her nervously. "She didn't feel like she could trust you, but she could do so more so with _me_." He swallowed hard. "A bit disconcerting, isn't it?"  
"God…" She weakly gazed down at the floor. "I knew things between her and I were bad, but not as bad as that."  
"Karen…I'm sorry to have to tell you all this."  
"I want to talk to her." She told him bluntly.  
"Sure. I'll give you her number." Chris freely wrote her number down for her. "Maybe meet up with her to have a talk about it all."


	92. Chapter 92

Bex awoke from the curtains being pulled away from the windows; the glare from the sunlight flashed onto her eyelids, causing her eyes to fly open.  
"Morning, honey." The nurse smiled softly. "How do you feel?"

"Better, I guess." She relaxed a little when she maternally swept a hand over her forehead. "I miss Chris."  
"Aww, I'm sure he'll come by later to see you." She reassured her, taking a quick note of her vital stats. "Do you feel like eating at all?"  
"I guess…like what?"  
"I'm sure we can think up something for you to have." She gently pressed a hand into her stomach. "Your tummy's still a bit unsettled after that overdose, isn't it?"

Once Bex had eaten something, she felt a little bit more energetic.  
"And I think we should get you up out of bed. Get you to use your _legs_ a little bit more." The nurse helped her to position herself on the edge of the bed, and sat next to her. "Your first counselling session is today, Bex. So why don't you get yourself freshened up and if you want any help…"

"I want you to be in the bathroom with me." She turned to her shakily. If she was on her _own_, the anxiety would get worse, but having another person with her – a _female_ – might be more helpful to her.  
"That's fine, sweetheart. I understand you're a bit traumatised still, and that's fine."

Bex shivered as she slipped her nightdress off and allowed it to glide down her legs; she watched the nurse get the water hot enough for her. "I'm scared."  
"I know, and it's ok."  
She stepped into the bath, settling down into the hot water; she flinched when she felt something hot yet soft press itself into her back.  
"It's ok, Bex, it's ok."  
"No. No, it isn't. I want to get out."  
"You're already in now." The nurse placed a hand on her shoulder, rubbing her there a few times comfortingly.  
Bex drifted off into a pensive state; she felt like disconnecting, becoming exhausted so quickly. Even though she'd eaten something and had a good enough sleep, the anxiety had sapped her quicker than anyone had let on.  
"…Bex?" She got worried when she cut herself off like that. "Bex, can you hear me?"

Chris sped up to the mental hospital as quickly as he could.

He presently came across Bex lying down on the bed, covered up in the wrapped up bath towel. "What happened to her?"  
"She completely shut down." The nurse explained to him, as he worriedly placed himself next to her and brushed a hand against her cheek. "I think the shock's settled in too deeply."  
"Bex…" He spoke softly, moving her slightly damp blonde hair away from her eyes. "Can you hear me, sweetheart?"  
No answer.  
"She's been like this ever since we got her out of the bath."  
"Which has been how long?"  
She had to think. "Around twenty minutes."  
Chris flitted his gaze to her swiftly. "Is there anything more you could do for her?"  
"Not really." The nurse admitted. "All we can do is wait for her to regain consciousness, which could take some time."  
"Maybe I should take her back to mine…" He suggested. "That way she might relax."  
"That might be the better option." She agreed. "Counselling might not be effective for this depth of shock. It might not totally resolve it."

Bex drifted in and out of consciousness, as the softer, dimmer light flooded the room in which she was in; the pounding headache she had faded away, as a hand softly swept itself over her forehead. She mumbled incoherently, stirring amid the dreamy haze.  
"It's ok now, Bex. You're safe." A familiar voice spoke above her, as the stroking kept going.  
"Chris…" Her eyes delicately opened, when she peered up into a pair of bright, blue eyes.  
"Close your eyes." Something gently stroked her along her eyelashes, causing them to feel heavy again. "Go back to sleep."

Chris checked up on Bex two hours later.  
She was stirring out of her sleep, as he came and positioned himself beside her. "Am I glad to see _you_."  
"I'm here for you now." He stroked the long parts of her blond hair through, causing them to scatter quite prettily over the pillow. "I won't let you get taken away again."

"I'm sorry." She shifted a little under the bed sheets, as he placed his hand over her forehead again.  
"What for?"

"For making you take me back here."

"Bex, it was my own decision to take you." He admitted.  
She sat up sharply, prompting Chris to help her sit up against the headboard. "But what about all my _stuff_?"  
"It's ok, the staff at the hospital helped me with that." He gazed at her softly. "I don't know how you feel about taking a bath after what happened before…"  
"I could…"  
"I mean it'll help you to relax." He suggested. "And then straight after you can get some sleep."  
Bex felt her stomach ache at the sheer emptiness inside of it. "I know having a bath will help me to relax, but I feel really tired again."  
"Did you not have anything to eat while you were there?"

"I _did_, but as soon as I started feeling so…odd, I kind of felt really sleepy."  
Chris frowned at her description. It didn't sound _odd_ to him, but it didn't sound good, either. "I think the shock's really wearing you down." He assumed.  
"But why did it happen then?"  
"It was probably a memory you had…some deep-set trauma." He didn't know what he should really do about it. "If the same thing happens while you have _another_ bath, I'm guessing it'll come back or get _worse_."  
Bex felt very lost.  
"Tell you what – it's coming up to twelve now, so I can always go out and get you something. Then once you feel better after that, I can run you a bath. How does that sound?"  
"Sounds ok, I guess."  
"So what does my special girl feel like then?" Chris inched further towards her.  
She shrugged. "I don't really mind…I'm quite _hungry_ though?"  
"Oh, I'm sure I can think of something." He smirked playfully.


	93. Chapter 93

Bex felt like she'd been asleep for _hours_; the flat's front door was heard to close, and Chris's slender yet well-proportioned figure stood in the bedroom doorway. "What time is it?"  
He smirked playfully. "Time for you to _eat_ something."  
"What did you get me?"  
"_Us_, more like." He disappeared, only for Bex to want to get up and follow him. "I felt quite empty as well."  
She shook her head in amazement.  
"What?" He noted.

"I've never known anyone who eats so much yet stays so slim." She remarked.  
"Oh." Chris came closer to her. "Well, I'm probably feeling like this because of all the worrying a certain person keeps causing me."  
"Who, my mum?"  
He snaked his arms around her waist. "I happen to be looking at them right now."

Bex smirked at his cheekiness. It was strange how he was deeply worried about her, yet still managed to be just as perky as his normal self. "You didn't have to go all out like this."  
"As _if_." He smirked.  
She couldn't help but find him cute when he was being cheeky.  
"Better get it sorted out before its gets cold, hadn't I?"

"Wow." Bex remarked. "I think that anxiety's going to take bit of time to wear me down again."  
"That was just to keep you going until then." Chris clarified. "I know that anxiety's very exhausting _physically_ as well as _mentally_, so that safeguards you."

"Thanks." She gazed at him softly.  
"Not a problem, you're welcome." His eyes sparkled subtly in the soft light. "I've got to look after you now, haven't I?"  
"The adoption hasn't come into effect yet though, Chris." Bex smiled a little. "Getting a little _eager_, are we?"

"No, not really." He gazed at her attentively. "Just getting into practice."  
"Well, you don't need to do a lot of _that_ for what you're going to do." She placed a hand on his wrist, causing him to jump slightly. Her eyes fixed on his, wishing he would come closer. "I think you're going to be a _perfect_ adoptive father."  
"B-Bex…" Chris felt cold shocks go to his spine. "Y-you don't mean that."  
"Oh, so modest…so unassuming." She inched closer to him, making it less effort for him to have done the same. "But you know what?"  
A soft gasp escaped his lips as she slid herself on top of him, placing herself on his lap with her legs wrapping around his waist; it was hard to ignore the rigidity by that time poking through his trousers and making it _extremely_ uncomfortable for him. Sooner or later he was going to have to relieve himself of them with Bex on him or _not_.  
"I actually find that quite _cute_." She teasingly slid her tongue along his lower lip, taking in its youthful moistness.  
Chris tried _very_ hard to disregard the stiffness in between his legs on top of Bex's _tempting_ actions, but she knew just _what_ excited him. His intended protest turned into a squeak, when she slid her hands under his shirt and up the sides of his waist.  
"Well…I'm guessing we should take this somewhere else…somewhere more _private_." She teasingly ran her index fingers up the sides of his slender figure, causing him to shudder under her.  
"L-like _where_?"

The two of them slid onto the bed together – Bex positioned herself on Chris's legs, her hips gliding down onto his as they kissed a little shyly.  
He twisted about a little as she teasingly unbuttoned his shirt, and the soft dusky light shimmered along the front of his body as the shirt was peeled off him. He almost jumped a foot in the air when a hand placed itself an inch or so away from the main part of his excitement.  
"O-oh, getting a little _anxious_, are we?" Bex taunted, her words causing the young male to twitch with excitement under her touch. "We're going to have to do something about that."  
Chris shuddered more as she inched her thumbs just over the crests of his hips; He felt all the more excited when her hands went to his belt, and quickly undid it.  
Bex relieved him of his trousers, along with his underwear, which followed suit; she undressed herself, sliding back on top of him and slipping her tongue into his navel.  
He gasped more excitably, bucked with his hips and spread his legs apart, signalling for her to take him.

"So did that feel good?" She asked him, as they lay in bed in each other's arms and enjoying their own afterglows.  
"_Unbelievable_."  
She smiled seductively. "Of course, after the adoption comes through, we can't do any more of that."

"No." Chris felt his eyelids get heavy with pleasure as Bex softly stroked him over his flat stomach, a few inches below his navel. "But I'm going to _miss_ you doing all this."

Their small respite during the afterglows were cut short when Bex's mobile vibrated on the nightstand by the bed; frowning, she picked it up and answered the incoming call.  
Flipping himself over onto his side, Chris watched her shakily get up and disappear out of the room.

She came back a few minutes later.  
"Obviously someone you didn't want me to find out about." He put to her teasingly.

"Oh, no. No…that was _Jess_." She sounded almost indignant. "She wants me to go to mum's and help with the baby. She's having problems with her."  
He frowned. "Isn't your _mum_ there?"  
"I think she's not yet back from work."  
He gazed over at the time. It had just gone half past four. It wouldn't have taken her that long to get back, and either of them would've left _sooner_ than that. "Did she say what sort of problems she's got with her?"  
Bex shook her head. "I feel like I _have _to go though, Chris."  
"Bex, you don't _have_ to let her make you do anything." He explained. "If it's something _you_ don't know how to handle, that's not your fault."  
She started to get dressed, noticing Chris was gazing over at her sweetly and pulled the bed sheets away to reveal his slender figure.  
"Come back to bed. This is something _she's_ going to have to cope with. Not you."  
"I'll be right back, honestly."  
His expression became more crestfallen.  
"I _promise_."

Jess let Bex in to the house. "Thank god you're here."  
"So what's the problem, Jess?" She asked her indignantly.  
She scowled at her. "Sorry I _bothered_ to ask you for your help then."  
"I'm sorry." She shook her head. "You just caught me at a bad time…"  
"Yeah, I _must_ have." Jess took in a faded yet sweetly musky scent on her skin. "You were with your _boyfriend_, weren't you?"

"And what business is it of _yours_?" Bex folded her arms across her chest. "I can see whoever I like _whenever_ I like."  
She couldn't help but _recognise_ that scent. It was strangely familiar to her.  
Bex was taken to where Jess's baby was shrilly crying; she took her out of the crib and cradled her in her arms. "Where's mum?"  
"I don't know." Jess shrugged. "Probably with _her_ boyfriend for all I know."  
She swallowed hard.  
"And there was me thinking you and mum were seeing the same bloke. Well, guess I was wrong…"  
Why did Bex suddenly feel sick to the stomach? "W-what made you think _that_?"

"You know what?" She gazed at her faintly. "It was all because you and mum had been bought the same sort of pendant from them."  
She flitted her gaze away.  
"Stupid thought, wasn't it?" Jess came closer to her and placed a hand on her older sister's shoulder; her suspicions were revived when the sweetly musky scent was niggling away at the back of her mind. "Although I can't help but think that you _are_."

Bex swallowed hard again, forcing the small wave of nausea back down into the put of her stomach.

"So are you going to tell me who's been seeing you both, Bex?"


	94. Chapter 94

Bex shakily sat down, still cradling Jess's baby in her arms. "I don't think that's any of your business who I see." She peered down at her, noticing she'd gone to sleep. "You're starting to sound like _mum_, you know."  
Jess stood in the doorway, still demanding an answer from her.  
Bex did not want to arouse _any_ suspicions she may have had regarding her seeing Chris – she didn't even know _what_ she could possibly say in her defence. Sheer coincidence? Although that may not completely wash with her younger sister.  
"There's something you're hiding from me – _both_ of you."  
"Jess, nothing is going on." She protested.  
"Bex, you've been running away, seeing random guys. Don't you think that might leave me a little bit worried?" Jess explained steadily. "For my older sister, you're not exactly setting a good example."  
"Oh, and you _are_." Bex snapped back. "Sleeping around with a different guy every night and then ending up pregnant. Not an ideal situation to be in when you're sixteen, is it?"  
"Don't you _dare_ tell me how to manage my life."  
"Maybe that's why he preferred me over mum and you anyway." She peered down at the floor anxiously.  
Now she'd let too much slip.  
"_He_?" Jess enquired. She came closer, noticing she looked more nervous. "Where's this "_he"_ come from?" Or, more importantly, who he happened to _be_?  
She swallowed hard, casting her gaze further away.  
"You'd better _answer_ me, Bex." She noted sharply. "So it's someone _I_ know as well as mum then. Someone _both_ of us had been seeing."  
Bex shook her head, wanting the whole conversation to stop. But it was already too late.

"Someone you want to keep _secret_ from me." An intimidating shimmer sparkled in her eyes.  
In some ways, Bex couldn't help but think that Jess reminded her of her "dad" – intimidating, oppressive and overly threatening.  
"Someone at the _school_, I'm taking it."  
"Jess, just drop it now. I don't want to talk about this anymore." She protested, hearing the baby stir out of her sleep and start to cry again.  
She placed her hands on her hips, not letting the conversation drop at all. "Oh, I see where this is all going now. You're seeing _him_."  
She flinched at the jealousy in her voice. She sounded almost…resentful, which was _not_ a good trait for her to have. But Jess was easily jealous anyway. "Go on – say it. It'll make you feel better for doing so."  
"You're seeing _Mr Mead_." Jess approached her more portentously, anger clearly there in her eyes. "How _dare_ you see him."  
"We both _love_ each other." Bex shot back at her.  
"He doesn't love _you_." She scowled. "Wait and see – a few weeks from now, he'll get fed up with you and move on to someone else."  
"Chris isn't like that." She shook her head. "You've got him all wrong."

"Oh, _have_ I?" She pushed her back down onto the sofa when she tried to get up and get away. "That's what _I_ thought before he ended it with me."  
Bex's eyes widened. "Well can you _blame_ him for wanting to end it with you? You're a _state_, Jess. He didn't deserve _you_."

"What's he been telling you?" Jess demanded. "Been telling you a pack of lies like he usually does?"  
"He does _not_ lie to me." She noticed the anger in her eyes, but she wasn't afraid of her. "Stop making him out to be a bad person."

She paced the floor in front of the doorway. No way was she going to accept her older sister going out with someone _she_ herself slept with. She didn't see it as herself being jealous. She only saw it as _unfairness _that he could have feelings for her.  
"Jess, what is it that's so hard for you to accept this?"

She scowled at her again, but it didn't put her off.

"Is it because of our age difference?" Bex put to her. "Because in all fairness, you're a little younger than me…"

"Only by a _year_."

"And you don't exactly act very mature for your age either."  
"I thought he and I…really _had_ something."  
She smirked a little. "Well, you _don't_. And he's with _me_ now."  
Jess shook her head in shock. "What is it about you that made him fall for you anyway?" She cast her gaze away. "Must've spun out one hell of a _sob story_ for him to have believed."  
Bex decided that was time to have left. She had her suspicions and she was _bound_ to have found out sooner or later.  
But she wasn't finished with her yet.  
"Does he make you _go_, then, Bex?" Jess grabbed her by her arm, pulling her up onto her feet and to eye level with her. "Hope he doesn't have a case of mistaken identity and ends up crying out _my_ name instead of _yours_."  
"Don't _flatter_ yourself." She pulled herself away from her but she wasn't giving up on evening the score even further.  
"I could _end_ it so, so easily." She smirked. "It could be all over the _school_. _Everyone_ would know, _you_ would be excluded and _he_ would be sent packing."  
"Don't do that." Bex pleaded with her. "I don't want _you_ destroying his reputation _any_ further."  
"Maybe I don't have to _do_ any of that." Jess thought out loud harshly. "Maybe it can all go away a lot _quicker_."

"Ok. If you spread that all around the school, then I'll tell everyone about what _really_ went on between you and him."  
She shrugged. "Don't know what you're on about."

"I meant when _you_ were all over him on that night out." She shot back. She knew she struck a nerve with her there.  
"So he's been lying again."  
"No, he was being deadly serious." She folded her arms across her chest. "So there is a way we could go about this, Jess."  
Jess gazed at her, a little anxious than intimidating.  
"You stop all this behaviour towards Chris and me and also stop threatening us by wanting to spread this all over the school. In turn, I won't mention _anything_ about what went on that night but that's _only_ if you promise not to spread malicious rumours through the place."  
"Ok." She hesitantly admitted. "But it doesn't mean I'm any more ok about all this."

"Well, that's _your_ opinion." Bex shakily got up, dialling Chris's number into her mobile. "I've got to head back now."  
"Yeah, I bet the two of you have got a lot of catching up to be getting on with in the _bedroom_." She commented icily. 


	95. Chapter 95

Chris let Bex back in to his flat. "Everything ok?" He noticed she seemed shaken, bordering on sheer fright.  
She walked straight past him, not registering him at all.  
He frowned at her behaviour, and watched her disappear out of sight. He followed her, realising she'd positioned herself on his bed. "…Bex?"  
She didn't move or make _any_ eye contact with the young male – just continued to sit stock-still and staring at the wall in front of her.

"Has something happened?" Chris sat next to her, unsure he should even _touch_ her. He knew from hearsay that some people were so shaken that even the _tiniest_ amount of contact was enough to make them detach completely. Not knowing how badly Bex was affected, he tried to keep as still as he could, waiting patiently for her to at least form a sentence.  
"Jess _knows_ about us." She admitted slowly.  
"Well it was _bound_ to have come out sooner or later." He had to admit. He waited for her to say more, but it didn't look like he was going to have much luck with that. "Was that it?"  
She nodded shakily.  
"You sure? You seem a lot more shaken up due to something as silly as _that_."  
"Sh-she threatened me, Chris." She looked to him, noticing his eyes had widened a little from shock. "C-can you believe that, my own _sister_?"

"She _physically_ threatened you?" Chris tried to distract Bex's gaze from the floor, but it was of no use. "She _hurt_ you, Bex?"  
She flinched from the accentuation of his anger as he said, "hurt". She knew he wasn't a violent person. But if it involved someone he deeply cared about – she wasn't so sure. "I _thought_ she was going to."

"…But it didn't get that far."  
"Chris, I'm not making this up." She wept out, immediately feeling herself being pulled up against him. "I wouldn't _lie_ to you."  
"I know you wouldn't, it's ok, I believe you." He reassured her, raking his fingers through her long blonde hair. He understood what Jess was like. Maybe not a violent person, but she certainly had it _in_ her.  
Bex dropped onto the bed, curling up on her side; she nestled her head into the young male's lap, as he smoothed the ends of her hair with his fingertips in a calming sort of way.  
"I won't let her _touch_ you, Bex." Chris promised her. "She's got _me_ to go through."

"B-but what if she turns up at the _school_?" She got worried. "She could be waiting for me outside for all I know…"

"Keep your mobile _on_ you at all times." He put to her firmly. "I'll do the same with mine, and if she tries _anything_ like that again, or _hurts_ you, you _call_ me on it. Ok?"  
"Even if you're in a _set_?"  
"Even that." He forced her to look straight into his eyes. "I _love_ you. I wouldn't ask this of you if I _didn't_."  
Bex flitted her gaze away shyly.

"You don't seem sure of something." Chris pointed out.  
"She didn't seem to think you _love_ me."  
"_Ignore_ her." He told her softly. "It's _jealousy_. She'll get over it."  
She nodded a little.

"Ok? You promise me you'll keep your mobile on you?"  
"I promise."  
He smiled softly. "Good."  
She felt warm all over as he placed his hands either side of her face, both sides of the underside of her jaw.  
"Try and relax now." He persuaded her. "We don't want you stressed out tomorrow, do we?"

"So what's on the cards now?"  
Chris cheekily inched up behind Bex, wrapping his arms around her waist, and giving her a soft kiss on her cheek. "Well…now that your _tummy's_ a bit happier, we should get you to have a _bath_."  
She closed her eyes as his lips pressed themselves into her neck.  
"What would you say to _that_?"

"I-I guess that seems ok." She felt herself slip away into a dreamlike state, as she relaxed in his embrace.  
"And we don't have to go to bed straight away if you don't wanna." He suggested, taking in a very sweet scent on her hair. "We can stay up for a bit."

The next morning – after break.  
Bex hesitantly came in to Chris's room; he peered up from what he was writing, and stopped writing altogether when he saw her stand in his doorway. "Can I see you, Chris?"  
"_Sure_ you can." He noticed she seemed a little anxious, and he didn't mind her coming in.  
She perched herself on the nearest desk, gazing at him nervously.

"Everything ok?" He didn't think everything _was_ ok.  
"Jess is outside." Bex shuddered a little. "I think she's after me."  
"Come here, Bex." Chris moved himself away from his desk, signalling for her to perch herself on top of him. He didn't really find her that heavy as she positioned herself on his thigh. "She will _not_ hurt you." He slunk his arms around her waist and kissed her on her cheek.  
"What if someone sees us?"  
"So _let_ them." He said eventually. Of course, no one ever _did_ see them, which was just as well.

"You sound like you don't care about what happens to us."  
"I _do_ care about that, don't be silly." He moved some of her long hair out of the way, as he kissed at her neck.  
"Should I _see_ Jess?"  
" – And get beaten up? I don't think so."  
Bex was crestfallen. "Chris, I appreciate you wanting to keep me safe and look out for me, but if I'm to be adopted by you for a little over under a year, you've got to let me go."  
"I know I have, but I just don't want you hurt."  
She turned round so she could look straight into those eyes – those amazingly clear, blue eyes. "You're so sweet."  
"Tell you what – I have to work late tonight, but I still want you to leave your mobile on. Remember what I said before. Ok? Any problems, you _call_ me."  
"You're letting me go back to yours on my own?"  
"You got it." He nodded steadily, pulling out the spare key for the flat. "Make sure you keep that safe. That's the _only_ spare copy I've got." 


	96. Chapter 96

Chris didn't realise there was a _lot_ more to go through than he _originally_ thought.  
He was doing the last of the marking, inadvertently coming across _Bex's_ practice paper.  
She didn't get a single answer correct.  
He almost jumped a foot out of his chair when his mobile vibrated and flashed wildly on his desk; the glare from the screen startled him and made his head hurt, and he realised he _had_ to find a way to turn that down.

"Are you coming back yet?"  
He frowned at how slurred her speech was. "Are you ok?" He hoped she'd gotten back ok, but there was something that worried him.

"Feel so…sick."  
"Bex, where _are_ you?" Chris sharply got up, shaking a little. "Are you back at mine?" A twinge of worry hit him in his gut. "…Are you hurt?"  
"Think I want to throw up."  
Yep, he was definitely worried then. "You're _drunk, _aren't you?" He had a feeling that he knew where she was. "Stay right there, ok? I'm coming to get you."  
"Chris, please help me…"  
He didn't even realise the _time_. It had just gone six. Surely he hadn't have been sitting there that whole time, marking a handful of papers? "I'm on my way."

Bex felt herself drifting in and out of consciousness; she felt her stomach hurt all over and she was almost blinded by a pair of bright lights that shimmered across the slightly wet road.  
A door was heard to dimly shut and a few footsteps hurriedly approached her.  
"Bex…"  
She felt a hand sweep her damp hair back from her face, as she came close to throwing her guts up all over the pavement.  
"How many did you have?"  
Bex mumbled something incoherent when two arms wrapped around her waist and a slender yet strong figure propped her up against the wall. Her eyelids felt like closing, as they felt that heavy.  
"Come on, sweetheart, stay with me." An index finger tilted her head upwards, allowing her to hazily gaze into a pair of bright, clear blue eyes. "Try and stay awake."  
"I-I can't…" She was close to falling asleep, and the sick feeling wasn't shifting. "Feel so tired and sick."  
Chris knew by that time he wasn't going to get a lot of answers out of her; she felt too sick and weak to focus on anything. "I'm going to have to take you home." There were a _lot_ of unanswered questions he was going to have to ask her when she felt better.  
"Don't want to go home."  
He knew it was just the _drink_ talking – but there was _one_ problem.

There was no smell of alcohol on her.  
"Bex, you're going to have to co-operate with me now." He explained patiently. "I know you don't feel well, but you're going to have to help me get you in my car – so I can take you back."  
Bex felt the muscles in her legs ache and almost turn to jelly as she tried to get up; Chris wrapped his arm around her as he unlocked his car. "You haven't got that much further to go, you're doing well."  
As soon as he opened the rear door for her, she immediately got in and curled up on her side, falling asleep.  
He hoped she wasn't going to be sick in the back of his car.

All through the drive back to his place, Chris kept a _very_ watchful eye on Bex, worried that she seemed to want to stay in the same position all the way through.  
She was _more_ than knocked out.  
When he got her into his flat, he took her straight to bed.  
He carefully towel-dried her hair, as she squirmed under him to resist. "I know you don't feel up to me doing this, Bex, but I'm not letting you go to bed with wet hair."  
She hazily gazed up at him.

He smiled softly. "At least you didn't throw up in the back of my car. That would've ended up being an expensive _valet_ job."  
"S-sorry, Chris."  
"Don't be sorry, silly." He smoothed his fingers through her hair as it started to kink from being damp. He actually found it a little cute. "I'm just glad you're ok."  
"Where am I?" Bex positioned herself in a more comfortable position on the bed under Chris's weight.  
"You're back home now."  
"With you?"  
"With me." He tenderly folded back a long bang that had curled quite prettily.  
She was thankful the lights in the flat were turned down to a soft dimness, so as not to overwhelm her senses.  
"You wanna tell me how you ended up there, Bex?" He wanted to know. He wasn't forcing her to say anything she didn't want to, but it was worrying to think he let her go on her own and completely go against him.

"It was just for one drink…" She weakly protested.  
He smirked playfully. "Never turns out that way, does it?" He caressed the tip of the bang he'd folded back, realising it had dried slightly.  
Bex slowly sat up as Chris shifted his weight off her to do so. "God, I feel so bad…"  
Frowning, he positioned himself next to her and placed a hand on her back. "Whatever it is, we can work through it. And it can't be _that_ bad."  
"It _is_, it's _quite_ bad."  
He stroked her down her back comfortingly. "Relax, ok? You're with me and whatever happened, it's over now."

"A-a guy tried to pick me up."  
His reassuring stroking didn't stop. "You told him you _had_ someone though, didn't you?"  
"I _tried_ to – before he shoved his tongue down my throat."  
Chris felt a little ill after Bex said that. He couldn't _blame_ her, not if someone forced themselves on her. He pulled her up against him, unsure of how to make it better. "I _know_ the way you feel about me, Bex. I trust you."  
"B-before I _knew_ it, I ended up…_out there_."  
"Come on, let's get these off you – you're almost wet through." He peeled her soaked jacket off her, placing that to one side. "Don't want you getting a cold."  
She managed to take her wet jeans off, even though they clung to her quite tightly at her hips because of the sheer dampness of them; her top wasn't really that wet, so she was fine to have left that on for the time being.  
"Hope you're not looking for new ways on getting me to run _baths_ for you." He winked cheekily.  
She smiled a little from Chris's cheeky remark, but the smile soon faded when he sensed a slight heaviness in her jacket, and that wasn't from how _wet_ it was.  
"Wow." He breathed. "Feels like you've just come out of a _river_."

Bex felt an uneasiness settle in the pit of her stomach, as he fished around in her pocket and pulled out a small box of what appeared to be medication.  
"What are these?" He asked her quietly.


	97. Chapter 97

Bex closed her eyes, not wanting to tell Chris or even look at him – he was standing quite still, patiently waiting for her answer. "I didn't want you to find out."  
He felt like saying, "Oh, well, that's _tough_, isn't it? Because I _did_." But he realised he shouldn't be like that with her. Her mind was all over the place and he had to respect that.  
"Please don't be annoyed at me, Chris."  
"I _won't_ be annoyed at you if you _tell_ me." Chris came closer, sitting in front of her on the bed. "Bex, I don't know what you're thinking, but I _do_ know that your mind's all over the place. Nothing will come out of this if you tell me. I'm not going to get you taken away or anything like that. I promise you."  
"You'll think I've been stupid."  
"Stop thinking all these things." He took hold of her hands, stroking the insides of her wrists with his thumbs. "You've only got _me_ to answer to now, and I wanna help you through this."  
"I've been taking those on top of drinking."  
His eyes widened a little in shock, if not worry.  
"I wanted to numb the pain."  
"_What _pain?" Chris's stroking came softer and slower. "I can get rid of it for you."  
Bex shook her head, feeling the tears come more frequently.  
"Bex, alcohol isn't the answer for things like that. Nor is overdosing on drugs like this or _mixing _them the way you have." He watched the tears fall, not really knowing what to feel. "I thought you _knew_ that."  
"I just don't want Jess coming after me." She wept out.  
He took her into an embrace. "Jess will not touch you." He stroked her down her back, feeling her shudder against his body. He felt awful at how scared she was.  
Bex shivered from hot tingles that shot to every part of her body and created a warm glow in her stomach, as he tilted her head upwards to get her eyes to meet with his.  
"I think you could do with _relaxing_." Chris withdrew from her, as she got back into bed. "I can get you something to help you sleep – and I don't mean _drugs_."  
"I don't know how well I'll be for school in the morning."  
He gazed at her reassuringly. "We'll worry about that tomorrow. For now, you need to relax."  
She nestled down in the bed sheets as he pulled them over her and up to her waist.  
"Feel warm enough?"  
She smiled and nodded.  
"Good." He rearranged her dry-ish hair, before tousling it. "You'll _beat_ this, Bex. And I'm _helping_ you to."

Bex drank out of the large mug, feeling the warmth from the liquid slide into her stomach and give her a warm glow inside.  
Chris was starting to get undressed. "Good stuff?"  
She nodded slowly. "_Very_ good." She had to admit.  
He flitted his gaze to her coyly. "Well, I wanted to make it extra milky – so it could put you to sleep – and settle your stomach."  
"I think it'll do _more_ than that, you know." She teased lightly.  
He jumped onto the bed next to Bex. "I'm just glad you're feeling better now." He tousled her hair again, before sorting it back to the way it should've been. "No more drug cocktails from now on, young lady. That's _dangerous_."  
"I know." She peered down into the mug. "I know I shouldn't have done it."  
"Well, we know why you did it, and it's ok."  
"But you said that it wasn't ok for me to do it."  
"No, I meant it's ok as to why you did it. You felt bad, and it's normal to feel that way." Chris noticed her forlorn expression, which was slightly obscured by a stray bang. He folded it back behind her ear. "All finished now?"  
"Oh…yeah." Bex handed the mug to him.  
"Shouldn't be long before that kicks in." He smiled softly.

The next morning.  
Bex awoke, finding herself lying in Chris's arms in an affectionate embrace; he'd wrapped himself around her, not in an oppressive way, but more protective.  
She smiled fondly, smoothing her fingers through his dark bangs, as they'd become askew from sleep. His eyelids flickered in reaction and he shifted a little against her before settling again.  
Before long, his eyes flickered open, revealing two bright, clear blue pools. "Hey."  
"Hey." Bex felt him squeeze her hand slightly. "How do you feel?"

"Shouldn't _I_ be asking _you_ that question?" Chris rolled onto his side, facing her; his eyes were sparkling intensely, displaying an intensity she didn't think he had.  
"I feel _better_, I guess." She felt her pulse race as he pressed a hand against her forehead. Hot shocks danced all over her body at the way he was touching her, even if it was something as subtle as _that_. "I know what _might_ help…" She winked sultrily.  
"I _know_ what you're thinking, and no." He smirked playfully. "I've got to get up."  
"Aww." Bex looked to him, crestfallen. "Can you not even take a day or two off…just to be with me and have wild, passionate sex?"  
"Well…" Chris slipped his shirt on, before sitting back on the bed and sliding two fingers along the length of one of the slightly curled blonde strands. "It's not only because I need to get up, but you need to rest more than anything else – and that includes not doing anything energetic like…_having sex_."  
"Are you saying I shouldn't come into school?"  
He nodded steadily. "Pretty much."  
She settled back down in amongst the bed sheets. "Maybe I _am_ just a washout."  
"No, Bex." He gazed at her softly. "You're _not_."  
Bex sadly gazed at him as he moved away and continued to dress himself. "I know I failed that practice paper I handed in to you."  
"Let's not talk about that." Chris suggested.  
"Oh, you're _that_ disappointed in me, is that why?"  
"Bex…" He came over to her side, and twirled his fingers through her bangs, making them curl even more. "You're having a rough time. I think I can let you off because of this."  
She didn't seem sure.

"You've just lost your concentration, that's all. And with your mind going here, there and everywhere, I think _concentrating_ is something it's not going to wanna do right now."  
"S-so you're not going to fail me?"

"I can let you take that one again." He put to her gently. "But I know what anxiety and traumatic stress does to people, and it's not nice."  
Bex smiled a little easily that time. "Ok. As long as it's ok with you."

"_Course_ it is. Why would I be saying this to you if it wasn't?" 


	98. Chapter 98

Karen sat quite icily behind her desk, as Chris came in; she dropped a few papers on the desk in front of her, startling him a little.  
"Is this about me adopting Bex?" He assumed shyly.

She shook her head, folding her arms across her chest. "Failing my own daughter to fulfil your own ends. Doesn't quite work that way, Chris."

His eyes dimmed in confusion and he shrugged. "Y-you kind of lost me there."

"Bex's grades." She clarified icily, coming to the conclusion that he was simply pretending to act all innocent and have no idea what she was on about. "They're falling."  
"I know." Chris admitted.

"If you _know_, why aren't you doing _anything_ about it?"  
"Karen, I'm _already_ trying." He protested. He knew that _she_ knew very little about Bex's current state, but that was the genuine reason, sitting right in front of her! "She's been through a _hell_ of a lot, to fail her when she's clearly not feeling well enough to _taking_ a practice paper is _unfair_."  
"Well, I appreciate your concern, but you're not her _father_ – you're her _teacher_." Karen shot back, startling him into a shocked silence. "Now I suggest you go away and do your _proper_ job – not play surrogate father to my own daughter."  
Chris was deeply offended by her comments, but he tried very hard not to let that become apparent. "I might not be her father – yet – but I'm just trying to be fair about this."

"Being _fair_?" She got up sharply. "By _failing_ her all the time?"  
"That's not what I've done." He put to her steadily. "I've put her down as not taking them. She's neither failed or passed, and none of this marking is because I'm going out with her."  
"I know possessing a relationship as the one you have with my daughter is _prohibited_, and that the only way round it is to get her excluded – but I will not stand for that."  
"K-Karen, I…"  
She drove him up against the wall. "Have you been rigging this to happen?"  
Chris didn't know _what_ Karen was on about. "Rigging _what_?"  
"Setting my own daughter up for a fall."  
"_No_." His bright blue eyes misted over with shock; how could she think such things like that? "I do _not_ rig grades, Karen."  
"I should hope _not_." She moved herself away. "I have high expectations of you, Chris – I would hate for you to disappoint me."  
"I only want what's best for Bex." He protested quietly. "And I'd rather her take practice papers and mock tests when she felt more _able_ to. There's no unfairness in that."  
"So now you're saying she's not up to it?"  
"No, I never said that." Chris corrected her. "Karen, she's _not well_. Where's the fairness in getting her to take those if she doesn't feel well enough to?"  
Karen nodded slowly.  
"She'll get back to me when she feels ready to take them. I don't wanna force her, and neither should anyone else."  
She decided to let him go, but her voice stopped him in his tracks. "I appreciate your concern for her."  
He gazed at her blankly.  
"I guess I should respect that more."  
"If this is all coming down to the adoption…" He started.  
She shook her head. "I've done my part of the form."  
Chris lowered an eyebrow, turning more to face her. "Y-you mean…"  
"She's all yours."

"This is your _daughter_ we're talking here." He told her softly. "She means more to you than she does to me."  
Karen smiled a little. "I trust you with her."  
"Hang on a second." He didn't feel right about any of that. "A minute ago you were accusing me of rigging her grades."  
"You _are_ a good person, Chris." She noted. "I guess I don't really think of the more empathetic nature in my staff."  
"Karen, if you want more time to think about it…" Chris approached her desk, seemingly unsure. "You can retract it. You don't have to agree with it."  
"I've given it enough thought already." She decided. "I know where she'll be and I know she'll be safe with you. And she'll get a lot of time with you."  
"But you can still devote time to her, if that's what you want." He protested. "And it's not as though our relationship's going to be…you know…incestuous."  
Karen frowned. "But you're going out with her, right?"

"Only up to when the adoption comes into effect. Once she's eighteen, she can decide whether to stay with me or not – the adoption would be void."  
She cast her gaze away. She didn't realise Chris was a lot more honest than that. "I got you all wrong."  
"How did you?"  
"I thought you wanted to adopt her so that you could…do _that_. Seeing as though you'd be practically under the same _roof_."  
"No, not at all." He was a little shocked that she thought that of him. "I know you're going through a few problems, and got two _other_ kids, but Bex's needs are far greater than theirs and yours."

She nodded slowly.  
"To take advantage of her…I don't know. I've never thought about it." He admitted. "It wasn't something that was spur of the moment, Karen. We did really talk this all through."  
Karen got up and took hold of Chris's wrists. "I'm so sorry, Chris. I misread your intentions for adopting her."  
"Then why agree to it in the first place?"  
She drew in a deep breath. "Lots of things."  
"_Try_ me."  
She gave him a worried look. "You're not going to run into any of your sets, are you?"

"I'm free now…so we can talk for however long you want."  
She smiled thankfully. "I'm sorry for the way I've been treating you lately."  
He smiled softly. "Don't apologise. I'm just glad we didn't turn this all into a personal vendetta."  
They sat down together; Karen aimed her gaze at the wall in front of her, whilst Chris gazed steadily at her, positioning himself on the chair in such a way that his body was tilted towards her – a sign that she'd gotten his attention.  
"It's not going to be easy talking about this." She admitted.  
"Take all the time you want." He reassured her.  
Karen gazed into his bright blue eyes; still as seductive and as tempting as ever, appearing no different to when he was with her – doing the naughty things that they both did together! She found herself get lost in them, and she had to pull herself away. "Well, first of all it was because Bex and I hadn't really bonded that well – and she seemed to take a shine to you."  
Chris smirked playfully.  
"And then it was because I thought that if Charlie wasn't really her birth father, then maybe it was only fair to go along with it…"  
He came a little closer to her. "You felt that she didn't belong to you?" He assumed, not trying to sound hurtful.  
"I-I guess…" A tear shimmered in her eye, and he tenderly wiped it away. "I don't know. Sometimes I feel like I don't _deserve_ her."  
"I can understand the way you feel." He admitted.  
Karen gazed at him steadily.  
"Bex has told me a lot about how she's been wanting to know her proper father."  
"Really?" She turned to face him more. "What has she said?"  
Chris shrugged. "Not much to that effect. Just the fact that she wants to know who he is, where he is – just the if, what, when, why, where, how questions."  
She nodded dimly. "She _should_ know the truth. She's old enough to have the right to know."  
"But you shouldn't have to feel pressured into telling her if you don't feel like you can." He reassured her. "Karen, _whatever _the reason is for not telling her, you should only tell her when you yourself feel _ready_ to."  
She thought for a few more minutes, before shaking her head in frustration. "I don't have the nerve to do it."

Chris stroked her down her back. "Then don't…it's ok. She's coming close to deciding to let this secret lie." The stroking came slow and soft. "It's just that she's been waiting a _very_ long time to be told."  
"I-if I tell _you_…would you break it to her?"  
"If…you _want_." He hesitantly agreed.  
"I don't think I have the nerve to tell her in person."


	99. Chapter 99

Later on that afternoon.  
Bex awoke to a _very_ appetising scent drifting her way; her eyes flew open and she sat up in bed, trying to work out where it was coming from.  
Chris's slender figure stood in the doorway. "I see you've pretty much still got your _appetite_." He winked cheekily.  
"You must be psychic." She lightly teased. "Knowing exactly when I'm full or hungry."  
"I'm sure it's just coincidence." He came into the room, setting himself down onto the bed so he could take off his jacket. "I know you almost always feel like it, so I got you your favourite."  
She gasped in excitement. "Y-you mean…You got me a _Chinese takeaway_?"  
He smirked playfully. "You _bet_ I did."

Once they'd finished that and everything was taken off the bed, Bex felt so full she was afraid she would explode.  
"I'm not surprised you feel that way after clearing that away." Chris teased her.  
"_You're _one to talk." She smiled softly. "Where do you put it all?"  
He peered down at his remarkably flat stomach. "It's somewhere in there. Don't know where."  
She inched further into the middle of the bed as he mounted it and positioned himself on the closest side. "That was a nice surprise."  
"I _like_ surprising you." Chris kissed her on her forehead. "You're _special_, that's why."

Bex cupped his face with one hand. "So are you." She felt him shudder a little as she skimmed her thumb over his cheekbone. "And you're going to be a _lot_ more special once the adoption comes through."

"Oh…well. There was something I've got to tell you about that." He unassumingly moved his gaze to the bed sheets.  
She noticed his body language, and was a bit confused by it. "Is it _bad_? Did we not get it?"  
"We _got_ it." He eventually told her, prompting her to throw her arms around him.

"So mum was fine about it?"  
"Yeah." Chris's voice insinuated a 'but'. "There was something she wanted you to know, though."  
"…Which was?"  
He paused for a few minutes. "Bex, you're going to have to understand that this is coming from your _mum_ and not me."  
"C-Chris…you're worrying me."  
Supportively, he reached out, placed a hand on top of hers and squeezed it. "She wanted you to know the truth about your dad…your _real_ one."

"Why couldn't she tell me that _in person_?" Bex protested.  
"She didn't feel brave enough to." He told her softly. "Which is understandable, given the circumstances of it all."  
She frowned a little.  
"Your mum hasn't told you who your dad is, because she doesn't know." He explained slowly.  
"I-I don't understand." She admitted.  
Chris took in her posture. She seemed confused and a little hurt.  
"She _must've_ known what he looked like…"  
He nodded. "She _knows_ all of that. But she doesn't know his name, how old he is, or where he is."  
"…Then why not?"  
He drew in a deep breath, flitting his gaze away from her. _He_ suddenly didn't feel brave enough to tell her either. But he _knew_ that he _had_ to, she'd waited long enough to be told. "Bex, your mum doesn't know who he is, because they weren't even _together_ at the time. They didn't even _know_ each other." He had to put it in such a way so as to minimise the shock.  
Bex shook her head. "Two complete strangers?"

He nodded slowly. So far she was with him.  
"…Then how did they…you know…get together?"

Chris started to stroke her at her wrists. "Your dad is _not_ a very nice person." He told her a little shakily. "That's all you have to know."

"Chris, please…" She insisted. "You can tell me. I don't care if it's in black and white, I just…I have to know."

He gazed at her softly. He was aware that she could probably take the amount of shock it would cause her, but there was no way of knowing with things like that. "He _hurt_ your mum." He felt like he had to add, however upsetting it was going to be for her. "He _raped _her."

Bex nodded slowly, swallowing hard.  
Chris kept his grip on her, keeping the stroking soft and slow, and allowing the shock to set in. He could see she had taken it quite well, but god only knew what it was doing to her inside.  
"I can understand why she wanted to agree to the adoption."

"It wasn't an easy thing for her to agree to, in all fairness." He clarified. "She didn't really wanna part with you. But she _trusts_ me with you. And she knows I can devote time specifically for you, not having to negotiate with anyone else for attention."  
She felt the shock numb her slightly – it was a strange feeling.  
"You wanna stay like that for a little bit more?" He suggested. He wasn't trying to be spiteful, he could see that the shock had done enough to her and it would take some time for her to completely snap out of it.  
"If that's ok with you." Bex numbly told him.  
"It's fine with me." Chris came closer to her. "We can stay like this for however long you want. Till you feel like stopping."  
"I-it's just such an…odd feeling." She admitted. "It's almost like I can't move or I can't think straight."  
"That's _exactly_ what shock does." He explained. "And it'll pass and then you'll feel better. But it was a shock you were kind of ready for."

"W-what's going to happen with _school_ though?" She swallowed hard. "Surely my mum's twigged my bad performance."

He smiled softly. "We came to a compromise with that." He kept the stroking going. "And we shouldn't be talking about _that_, young lady. We're concentrating on getting you better first."


	100. Chapter 100

The next day.  
Bex awoke, noticing Chris was already up and getting dressed.  
He jumped a little after seeing her sit up against the headboard and stare straight at him.  
"Sorry." She couldn't help but get a little enjoyment out of startling him like that.  
He felt his heart almost leap into his throat, but felt better after he calmed down. "You scared me."  
She smiled a little. "Off to work now, I take it?"  
"Yeah, well…" Chris did the belt up around his slender waist. "_Someone_ has to pay the bills."  
"When can I go back to school?"  
"Not _yet_, that's for sure." He sat on the bed next to her. "I know you're feeling pretty rough because you're missing out, but I'm not letting you fall behind that easily."  
"It's _inevitable_ now, isn't it?"  
"No, not quite." He twirled his fingers in her hair. "Not if I get you back up to speed by letting you catch up _here_."  
"Y-you're not taking me out of school…_completely_, are you?"  
Chris smirked playfully. "I think I may get into a bit of trouble for doing _that_." He sat closer to her, feeling warm as Bex placed a hand on his thigh. "I meant catching up on bits at home while you're not well."  
She nodded slowly.

"If you think that's not going to be fair on you, Bex, I'd rather you say so now."  
"I just feel bad that I'm skiving off." She admitted.  
"You are _not_ skiving off, though." He reassured her. "You're unwell, and I don't wanna give you stuff to concentrate on if you don't feel like doing so."  
"I don't want to be bored, I guess."  
He smiled softly. "Then that's settled." He rested his hand on top of hers, which was still on his thigh. "I'll get a few practice papers, and if you want, we can through them together…or if you wanna do them on your own, it's up to you. But do them in your own time."  
"You must think I'm a _right_ washout."  
"No." He shook his head. "No, not at all. I think you're _very_ bright. And besides, even if you _were_ a washout, I wouldn't give up on you."

Chris got in to work, seeing Karen already loitering about in the entrance.  
"Just the person I wanted to see." She stopped him in his tracks.  
"Oh. Sounds ominous." He sidled up to her, his bright eyes sparkling.  
"I've got a proposition for you." She took hold of his arm, squeezing at the firm muscle there. God did that feel good. "Six o' clock at mine. And bring Bex with you."  
Chris couldn't help but smirk a little. "What's all this for? A thank you present for me adopting her?"  
"It's to say thank you for everything you've done for her. For me. For us."  
"Karen, I…" He felt himself go red and a little coy. "I-it was nothing. Honestly. Anyone would've done it."  
"No one like _you_."  
His red blush deepened a little. He was sure everyone else could see.  
"Hope you're not going to forget." Karen smiled knowingly at him.

"Me? Course not."  
"Good." She pulled him up against her, both bodies touching. "I would _hate_ for that to happen."  
Chris shivered as he felt her warm breath on his neck, the part that remained uncovered by his shirt. He was sure a slight cold shock slid down his back and made him freeze at the feeling.  
Why on earth did he still feel that sort of way when she did things like that to him?

"Come _on_, Bex, on with your dress." Chris playfully teased her, as she was still positioned on the bed, hardly moving. "We're going to have to go soon."  
Hesitantly, she slipped her top off that she'd been wearing in bed, but Chris, already coming to the decision that she was doing that a bit _too_ leisurely, came into the room and helped her with getting ready.  
"Something tells me you don't wanna go."  
"I don't want to go because _she's_ going to be there." Bex pointed out hollowly, feeling warm all over as he gently moved her long blonde hair from under the sheer fabric of the dress.  
"Who, _Jess_?" He smoothed her hair back into position, allowing it to flow over her shoulders. It had a slight wave in it, which he actually found _adorable_.  
"Good guess."  
"Bex, I…" Chris got her to gaze up at him. "Do _not_ worry about her, ok? She's got her own problems with this whole thing, which we sort of expected. She _always_ has problems with _something_. Ignore her."  
"B-but she's my _sister_."  
"Yeah, I know there's no escaping _that_. Everyone else is ok with it. Your _mum_ for one is ok with it. Why else would she be letting us come over?"  
Bex dimly let him sort her out, and he placed his hands on her shoulders.  
"We won't even be there for that long, ok? So try to relax. You can ride this out."

Karen let them both in. "Come in. Sit yourselves down."

They both sat down together, as she stood in the doorway.  
"The kids are upstairs at the moment, but they'll be down soon."  
"Oh. That's ok." Chris looked at his watch. It was only ten to six. "Didn't realise how early we are."  
She smiled softly, and looked at him as if signalling to him to follow her.  
Dutifully, he came over to her, as she placed her hands on his hips, as they both stood in the hallway.

"How are things with her?"

"So far, so good." He admitted. "No problems as of yet."  
"I don't know how long it'd take for the adoption to come into effect…" Karen inched her hands down to his thighs, his trousers accentuating their slenderness. "But when the time does come for it to come into effect, that'd mean you'd be _single_."  
"Y-yeah…I guess if you wanna look at it _that_ way." Chris shyly agreed.

She liked it when he came over shy like that. It was quite cute. "I guess you're keeping things between her and you…"  
"I haven't done anything with her, if that's what you mean." He put to her steadily. "Nor do I _wanna_ do anything with her. Not when it's coming so close to the adoption starting up."  
"In _that_ case then, Mr Mead…" Karen glided one index finger under the young male's jaw, caressing the soft skin and causing him to melt against her. It was an automatic reaction that he couldn't stop. "Would you object if I were to _kiss_ you?"

He said nothing, but moved his body down against hers.  
"I'll take your answer as a _no_ then." She moved further forward, their lips connecting and electrifying emotions both of them had kept back for so long.  
Chris mumbled incoherently at the action, closing his eyes as her thumb skimmed over the contour of his cheekbone and her hips moved up against his.  
Karen withdrew from their passionate position, satisfied with the small, aroused blush that had graced his cheeks. She watched his chest heave heavily from pleasure, and she knew she as good as had him.  
"Y-you know that was a _very_ naughty area to have touched." He warned her shakily.

"I know – but I can get away with it." She smiled seductively.  
Chris sorted himself out as she moved further away and did likewise.  
"I'd better check up on things." She eyed him up and down, liking what she saw. Maybe later…


	101. Chapter 101

All through the meal, Jess had continued to look daggers at both Chris _and_ Bex.

"Hope that was ok for you. It's been hard cooking for five as it's been so long." Karen admitted.

"No, it was fine. _You_ did fine." Chris pointed out.

A small blush reached her cheeks, and she flitted her gaze away in a coy sort of way.  
Jess only rolled her eyes up at the ceiling.  
Bex noticed that, and looked at her in a quizzical way.  
"_What_?" She barked out.

"Just wondered why you looked like that." Her older sister quickly looked away. "Didn't have to jump down my throat."  
"You're not even my _sister_ anymore." Jess sharply got up, kicking the chair out from under her. "Don't even know why either of you are _here_." She scowled at them both, before storming out.

Bex helplessly gazed over at Chris, who reached out and squeezed her wrist in a comforting sort of way.

Karen said nothing, and simply leant against the worktop, one hand on her hip.  
"You want me to see to her?" Chris offered.

She shook her head. "Let her cool off in her own time."  
He nodded unsurely.  
"One day this immaturity of hers will pass." She slowly thought out loud. "Just a matter of _time_ isn't it?" She couldn't help but say that in a sceptical sort of way.  
"Karen…" He got up and came over to her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "It's a shock, this whole adoption thing. But _Jess_…she's not one for change, is she?"  
She shook her head dimly. "Well, no."

"You're trying _really_ hard to cope with all this, and I respect you for that, as it can't be easy." He assured her. "Just be patient with her, ok?"  
"I could always have a word with her." Bex suggested.

Chris didn't seem so sure. "I don't think you should." Especially as Jess aimed her anger mainly at _her_ in the first place.  
She quietly sat back down again.  
He peered at Karen, unsure of what to say to make any of it better. His first thought was that she should take a few minutes off to relax, and he got her to sit down. "You've got about a hundred different feelings going round inside you right now, haven't you?"  
"To say the least." She admitted tiredly.

He rubbed her down her back.  
"Oh, Chris…" She mumbled into the table. "You seem to make everything just go away again."

"Glad I _have_ that effect on you." He smirked playfully.  
"I'll clear up…then maybe you and I can sit together."  
He nodded. "As long as you're sure you'll be ok with all that…"  
She smiled a little more easily that time. "I'll be fine. I'm stronger than some people think."

Once everything was sorted out, Karen and Chris sat together, alone, in the lounge.  
"It's going to be hard for a little while…" He assured her.

She nodded dimly.

"But I shouldn't worry." He placed a hand on top of hers, his bright eyes flitting to her darker ones comfortingly.

She gently cupped his face, taking in the dewiness of his skin. "You make everything feel so much better, Chris."

"Well…" He shyly cast his gaze away. "That _kind of_ is my job."  
Karen sat up more comfortably, unable to stop admiring his slender yet well-proportioned frame.  
Chris was sure he felt another blush coming, as he felt her eyes wander down his body.  
"So the kids are upstairs…and it's only us two down here." She drew a circle on his thigh with her index finger. "Unsupervised."  
He shuddered at the thought of them both being alone, and being left to their own devices, they could do anything.

She _longed_ to kiss him, to sense her lips on his more moist ones and not stop.  
"I've _got_ to have you."  
Chris had no time to protest, yet in the back of his mind, something told him not to resist, as Karen straddled one of his thighs, her hip grazing his.  
They both moved together, as she slammed down against him and he bucked upwards – both bodies converging as they thrust.  
She undid a few buttons to his shirt, before pressing her lips to his neck and drawing out a low whimper in his throat. She moved further down, covering the top of his chest with sugar-soft kisses and causing him to twist under her to resist.  
"K-Karen…" He closed his eyes, unable to stop the strange yet irresistible warm, tingly feelings going to every part of his body. He was sure her intention all along was to get him round there, get him alone with her and do such naughty things with him.  
Karen loved the way Chris was reacting to her; he was struggling helplessly under her, and was shuddering from every touch, every kiss that she dealt to him. It was clear to her that he wanted it so, so badly – his body was saying _no_ but inwardly he was crying out for touch. It was almost as though he was _on_ _fire_.  
He let out a helpless gasp as her tongue lapped over one slightly raised nipple; she gently nudged it further up with the tip of it, eliciting an incoherent mumble as he tried to repress his noise in a vain effort to conceal his excitement.

"Nice as this all this…" She hazily gazed at him, her eyes misting over with pleasure. "I think we should take this onto the floor."

Karen shut the lounge door behind her, so as to make it more private between them; she slipped her clothes off, as Chris also did the same, unable to stop staring at her as she stood, completely naked, in front of him.

She slid herself on top of him, immediately deciding to assault his lips, as they were slightly parted from excitement; she slid them both onto his lower lip, licking and biting on it before sucking away the minor pain he felt.  
His breathing grew hard and laboured, as she swiftly moved to his flat stomach, lapping at the rim of his navel and twirling the tip of her tongue against the small nub. He twisted about more noticeably, his hips twitching excitably.  
Happy that she'd gotten the young male excited enough, Karen decided to get to the increasingly sensitive part of him.  
Chris arched his back from the floor, as something moist and excitingly warm encircled him; his hips jolted in resistance, in order not to submit to the movements and feelings, but he didn't know for how long he could keep that up.  
Every so often, he let out excited yet helpless little gasps; and when something even moister and warmer grazed against his length, he arched his back even more, causing him to buck upwards.  
She gazed down at him, noticing a red flush appear at his cheeks and at his chest, and his eyes tightly closed; he was still twisting about under her, tensing his stomach muscles as his pelvic ones began to contract and throb. Oh yes, he was very close.  
He let out a prolonged whimper, as his release came quite quickly; he relaxed against the floor, his eyes closed, but a little looser than before.  
Karen continued to hold Chris there, her hands on his hips as she felt them twitch erratically under her hold. She had never excited him as much as that. "Was that good or was that good?"  
"Th-the _best_." He gasped out, sensing the contractions fade away quite slowly.  
She withdrew from him as she went to dress herself.  
"Did you not wanna be done?" He asked her, anxiously. After all, _she_ was the one feeling bad and not him – but that wasn't to say he didn't _like_ it.

"Are you offering to do it?" She assumed seductively.

"Maybe…" He cast his gaze away shyly.

"Well, in that case…" She peeled her top back off again, no sooner had she put it on. "I will happily accept your offer."

Chris went to get to it, before both of them heard sniffling from upstairs.  
"I'll take care of it." Karen offered. "After all, I don't want you to bother about it."  
"No." He got himself dressed. "You're feeling bad enough as it is. I'll see to it."


	102. Chapter 102

Chris realised the sniffling was coming from Bex's old room; he slowly pushed the door open, noticing her lying down on her bed, tears rolling down her cheeks. "What's wrong?"

"A-all this adoption business." She admitted slowly, not wanting to worry him by making him think she didn't want to go through with it anymore. "When is Jess ever going to be ok about it?"  
"When she _grows up_?" He sat down on her bed quite close to her, placing a hand on her back as she shifted onto her side. "Is that all that's bothering you?"  
"Y-you and my mum…" Bex gazed at him, shocking him at the redness of her eyes. "Are you both going to be together when the adoption becomes void?"  
"No." Chris took hold of her hands as she sat up. "Not if you still wanna end up with me."  
She nodded slowly.

"It's just a matter of convenience, Bex." He clarified. "And your mum's going through a tough time as well, having to adjust to this."  
"S-so you don't _love_ her?"  
"Course I love her." He wiped away the black smudges of eyeliner that the tears had caused. "But it'd be unfair to let her handle this on her own. Remember what I said, I'm there for _both_ of you."

"O-ok."

He frowned a little. "You sure you feel more ok about it now?"  
"I think so."  
"You still wanna be my _daughter_, don't you? Well…an _adoptive_ one anyway."  
Bex smiled softly. "Course I do."  
Chris thought for a few seconds. "You wanna go home now?"  
"I think…I don't know."  
"It's just _one_ person who has a problem with it and we both knew that she would. You've seen that your mum and brother are fine about all this. Nothing changes the fact that she is your _mum_, Bex. And you can see her whenever you want. Just because you're adopted to me doesn't mean I won't let you see her."

"I've got a problem with it because it's _you_ who's adopted her." A familiar, insulting voice came out from behind them.

Bex shrank against Chris, as he gazed over at Jess who was standing in the doorway.  
"I think you should get back to me about that when you grow up." He pointed out.

"I've grown up _now_. I don't want my older sister being adopted by god knows who. Who knows what you do to her when you're both alone together?"  
"Jess…" He started. "I adopted her because your mum has got enough to deal with – mainly _you_."  
She scowled at him. "What are you suggesting?"  
"Don't think I or her don't know." He felt awful when he felt her shudder against him. "I don't think I need to go into all the detail about the late nights, and the random guys you pull. And then irresponsibly decide to get pregnant and drop out of school. Not the best life choices you could've made, are they?"  
"What I do is of no concern to you." Jess looked daggers at Chris.

"No, true as that may be, it _isn't_." He flitted his gaze away. "But it's affecting _Bex._"  
"How is it? She's older than me."  
He turned to face her more. "She hasn't been out clubbing before. You could've exposed her to the more dangerous side of being out like that. What am I talking about, you _already_ did that."  
Jess looked away guiltily.  
"Bex knew _very_ little about any of that. She'd been out of the city for god only knows how long. How would you _expect _her to adapt to a culture shock like that?"  
She backed away slightly.

"Just because it's something _you've _grown up doing, doesn't mean she's going to necessarily go the same way."  
"Don't you dare pin any of this on _me_."  
Chris turned to Bex. "You wanna go home now, sweetheart?"  
She nodded dimly.  
"Ok…let's get you back then, yeah?"  
Karen heard more than one set of footsteps as she hastily got up to see who it was. She was surprised to see Chris being accompanied by Bex. "Is there a problem?"  
"She wants to go home." He rubbed her down her back. "She's getting a bit tired, aren't you?"

Bex sat down on the bed, as Chris sat next to her with a tissue he'd soaked in some tepid water.  
"Let's get the rest of that stuff off you." He carefully wiped the remainder of the black eyeliner smudges from under her eyes. "Have you looking _less_ like a _panda_."  
She smirked from his teasing.  
"And then into _bed_."  
She settled in amongst the bed sheets as he threw the wet, eyeliner-covered tissue away. "I appreciate you sticking up for me earlier, Chris."  
"Hey, that's what I'm here for." He soothingly preened her blonde hair back into its cute curls. "Got to look after you."  
Bex smiled a little more. "I love you."  
Feeling warm from her saying that, Chris kissed her on the top of her head. "Love you too."  
She watched him undress, but he only went as far as leaving his _underwear_ on.  
He slipped into bed next to her, and scattering her long wavy hair back onto the pillow, which made her feel sleepy. "Go to sleep now."  
Her eyelids felt heavy, as she focussed on his bright blue eyes. "When can I go back to school?"  
"When I _say_ you can." He noted softly. "I got you some practice papers to go through anyway, and you can go through those whenever you want."  
"Like tonight?"  
Chris smirked playfully. "No, because tonight, you have to _sleep_. Save that for tomorrow, ok? Give your _head_ a rest." 


	103. Chapter 103

"I know I shouldn't really discuss individual students' cases like this…" Tom approached Ruby the following morning. "…But have you seen Bex Fisher at all lately?"  
She shook her head. "Don't think so." She then frowned. "Why don't you ask Karen?"  
"What, question her about her own daughter?" He didn't seem sure. "She might lay into me at the thought of doing something like that."

"Tom, come _on_…" She pressed him. "What harm can that _cause_?"

Karen peered up from what she was doing as Tom entered. "You seem awfully flustered this morning. We haven't even _started_ yet."  
"Is everything with Bex ok?" He wanted to know.

"Why all this concern for her?" As she was concerned, the only people who should be looking out for her are herself and _Chris_. "She's perfectly fine, Tom, she's just not in."  
"Why _not_?" He sounded worried. "Karen, she hasn't got long to go before she takes her exams. I don't want her falling behind the others."  
"Chris is taking care of that, he's well aware of what's going on." She assured him coolly.

"_Chris_?" Tom couldn't help but think that what was going on seemed a tiny bit _dodgy_. Not that Chris was an untrustworthy person, but a guy who was still quite young and seemingly involved with a much younger female…well, that didn't leave much to his imagination. "Why is _he_ involved?"  
Karen flitted her gaze to him in a more defensive way. If she were to stick up for _both_ of them, she didn't care. And anyway, Chris _did_ take it upon himself to make sure Bex was well looked after – he _adopted_ her! "If you really _must_ know the ins and outs of all of this, Tom, Bex is _unwell_."  
"She's been off for _too long_ though." He put to her dimly. "She's got a _hell_ of a lot of catching up to be getting on with as it _is_."  
She said nothing, but nonchalantly went back to her writing.

"I don't understand at how laid back you're taking this."  
"That's because you don't know the whole background on this." She clarified steadily. "Bex is not well and Chris has already said for her to catch up with her sets in her _own_ time. She'll _get_ there and he _knows_ that."  
Tom shook his head. "That's not fair. Just because she's your _daughter_…"  
Karen gazed at him defensively. "I'm sorry, but her being my _daughter_ has got nothing to do with it."  
"I can't believe she's being let off like this."  
She sharply got up, her eyes turning hard and dark. "My _daughter_, for your information, is going through a _hell_ of a lot more than you _know _of. So don't you _dare_ think she's getting preferential treatment off of either of us."

Tom stormed out of the room; he already knew where he was off to.  
He brusquely pushed past Cesca, who was startled by his anger, which seemed to be gathering some force.  
She hated to think who was going to bear the brunt of _that_.

Chris quickly flitted his gaze to his door, noticing Tom had opened it; his eyes came over dim with worry, and he didn't really know what to say as he came over to him.  
"Why are you favouring Bex Fisher?" He asked him quietly. He surprised himself at how well he actually contained that anger of his. Maybe due to the fact he didn't want to physically hurt the younger male.

He frowned. "Favouring…? I don't think I'm doing _anything_ like that."  
"Chris, I know we're mates, we tell each other everything. Surely you can be honest with me when it comes to talking about individual students' cases."  
"Well, yeah…" He wasn't happy to want to talk about _that_ particular person. As far as _he_ was concerned, Bex was _his_ concern, and his concern _only_.  
"Well Karen seems to think that she's to be monitored by you and herself. And I don't understand why."

"I-it's quite _simple_, Tom. Bex is _unwell_." Chris clarified innocently.

"She has her _exams_ coming up soon. Don't tell me you didn't bear that in mind."  
"Actually I _have_. And she's taking them when everyone _else_ is." He piped up.

Tom shook his head.  
"I've seen her paperwork, Tom. She'll be ready to take them when that time comes."  
"Even though she's been off sick for god knows how long?" He noticed him look away sharply. "Why all this concern for her? Not trying to get her into your _underwear_ again, are you?"

He cast his gaze on the paper he was marking.

"Oh, my god, don't tell me that you _are_."  
"No, I'm _not_."

Tom was surprised at Chris's retort.  
He didn't know how the older male would construe what he was going to say. "Bex is staying at mine, if you've got to know."  
"_What_?" He sounded aghast.  
"I adopted her."  
"I-I don't understand. _Why_ have _you_ decided to have her?" He put his hands on his hips. "You're not her proper _father_, Charlie is."  
"Don't you think I _know_ that?" He snapped back. "Karen was finding very difficult to look after all three of them whilst dealing with the trauma of being assaulted. You work out how _difficult_ it was for her."  
Tom shook his head. "I-I don't believe what you're doing." He went to leave. "You're just taking advantage of her."  
"No I'm not…" Chris's protest was cut short when he stormed out of the room and slammed the door shut.

Tom has pushed past Cesca again.

"What _is_ this?"  
He stopped and turned round to look at her quizzically.  
"Do you have some personal vendetta against everyone today?"

"Hasn't been a very good day so far."

"No, I _gathered_ that." She frowned, expecting him to apologise, but soon realised he wasn't intending to.

"I want that kid _sacked_." Tom put to her stonily.  
"Tom…" Cesca protested. "You had no right to talk to Chris like that. He's your _friend_ and what you said to him was _very_ harsh."  
"He's taking advantage of Karen's _daughter_." He spoke with a hint of shock. "Can you _believe_ that? He's going to end up sleeping with the whole _family_ at this rate."  
"I think you're getting the wrong end of the stick. Chris is _not_ like that. He can never be anything like that."  
He shook his head. "Make of it what you will, but I'm going to complain to Karen."

"I'll talk to him." She suggested. "At least give him the benefit of the doubt. What he's doing might be virtually _harmless_."

Chris shakily went back behind his desk, a little shaken from Tom confronting him. What on earth made him _snap_ like that? He found it hard to concentrate, realising he lost where he'd gotten up to with his marking before managing to find his place again.

Cesca swiftly came in. "Hey."

He automatically cringed in anticipation for the accusations he could see coming; he shrunk into his chair a little, but relaxed slightly when she placed a hand on his shoulder.  
"How do you feel?"

"Not good."  
She smiled softly down at him. "How about I take you out for a drink after work? Cheer you up a little."

He nodded slowly, unsure of where it was all going to lead. "O-ok."  
"Good." She squeezed his shoulder in a supportive way. "I'll see you out in the main entrance after work then."


	104. Chapter 104

"So come on." Cesca handed Chris his drink as she sat down with hers; they'd sat in a quiet part of the bar, away from any major noise so they could be by themselves. "What was that fracas about earlier with Tom?"  
He shook his head dimly. He didn't want anyone else to start on him and accuse him of being a pervert.  
"Chris…" She reached out and squeezed his hand supportively. "You can tell me."  
He drew in a deep breath. "I don't want you drawing up assumptions about me, Cesca. I've had enough of that earlier."

"I'm not here to assume _anything_." She reassured him. "I'm here for you to talk to."  
Chris swallowed hard. He appreciated Cesca asking him out for a quiet friendly talk, and it wasn't like he was _against_ the idea in the first place. He was desperate to talk to someone apart from Karen – someone who would see things from his point of view, but he thought _Tom_ would've understood, of all people.

She tried to coax his gaze back up to her, but he wasn't having it. He kept his gaze on the table they were sitting at, feeling too afraid to look her in the eyes.  
"Tom wanted to know why Bex wasn't in." He explained quietly. "He must've asked Karen beforehand where she was."  
She nodded softly.

"So then he came to me – he kept firing questions at me, but I didn't wanna answer them." Chris shuddered a little from fright at the memory of how Tom sounded and his ominous body language. He'd _never_ known him like that before. "S-so I eventually told him the truth…"

"So you've been hiding this from him…even _everyone else_?"  
He shook his head. "Only Karen and I knew of Bex's situation. It was _both_ our concern, no one else's."  
"But…why?" Cesca came closer.  
_Here we go again_, he thought slowly. "Karen agreed to me adopting Bex."  
Her eyes widened slightly. What from, he couldn't be so sure. In his opinion, it didn't really matter to him if _she_ was shocked at the whole thing. "You…_adopted_ Bex?"  
He nodded dimly. "K-Karen was finding it hard to cope with looking after all three of them and on top of her traumatised from _assault_, she was getting very stressed out. She was finding it hard to devote herself to them – by taking Bex off her, it'd be less hassle for her."  
"Chris, I…"  
Chris recoiled a little from what he perceived was going to come. But it actually didn't come at all, and he was confused as to why.  
"That's so _sweet_ of you."  
He felt a blush coming, and he tried to hide the fact that he was.  
"You wanted to do something like that…just for _her_."  
"W-well…it was for _all_ of them." He admitted softly. "Just to lessen the burden."  
Cesca rubbed his arm supportively. "You're so lovely. I can't believe Tom could misinterpret that."  
He shrugged. "He had every right to think what he did."

"No." She squeezed him at the firm muscle at his arm. "No, he had _no_ right to think that. How could he think such things out of _you_?"  
"Cesca…"Chris started. "I don't want any more vendettas made out of this."

"I'll have a word with him tomorrow." She promised. "Try and get this sorted out between you two boys."  
He smirked a little.

"I think someone's already cheered up a little." She pointed out playfully, placing an index finger under the young male's jaw and tilting his head back up so he could look at her. "Just as I thought. You're looking better already."  
His blush deepened slightly.  
"Come on then, you." Cesca chided teasingly. "Finish that so we can go."

The next day.  
Cesca came flying up to Tom, placing both hands on hips as she confronted him. "You had a _right_ nerve to talk to Chris like that."  
"Cesca, just drop it." He dismissed her telling him off. "Everyone knows what goes on with that kid."  
"You're talking to and about him out of _spite_ and it's not fair." She protested, pulling him to one side.  
He immediately pulled her off him and away from her.  
"All because you misconstrued what he said." She folded her arms across her chest. "You know he's nothing like that."  
"So you talked to him?" Tom assumed.

"In an attempt to clear the air between you two, _yes_." Cesca quickly snapped. "What he did was for a reason, and it was to safeguard _Karen_."  
He shook his head. "I can't believe you're taking his side."  
She glared at him blankly.

"All because you _fancy_ him, that's why."

"I do _not_ fancy him." Although that was something she couldn't automatically deny. Ok, Chris pretty much attracted women _wherever _he went, but he was _already_ spoken for. If he _wasn't…_well, she wouldn't have said no. "Just trust me on this, Tom. I was with Chris long enough to know that his intention was _not_ to take advantage of Bex."  
Tom felt awful for even assuming such things.

"How could you _think_ that of one of your friends?"

Chris came in to Karen's room, feeling shaken yet not knowing why.  
"Everything ok?" She obviously sensed his nervousness.  
"Y-yeah. Fine."

"You don't _seem_ it." Frowning, she got up from behind her desk, going up to him and placing her hands on his shoulders. "You seem _tense_."

"Maybe what happened yesterday has something to do with it." He admitted weakly.  
Karen helped Chris to sit down, wanting him to go through what had happened with her.  
Reluctantly, he did so, but he didn't want to make Tom out to be a bad person, as he wasn't. He simply got the wrong idea about the whole situation.

She listened attentively, occasionally rubbing him down his back as he'd stalled a few times. Sheer shock, she presumed.

"…But I know Tom isn't a bad person, Karen. He's a _mate_." He finished explaining to her.  
She smiled softly. "I think, to be fair, it could well be jealousy."

He didn't seem to agree with her.  
"Tomorrow, I'm sure it'll _all_ blow over." Karen reassured him.  
"It's Saturday tomorrow." Chris must've been on autopilot all that time.  
"_Is_ it?" She was shocked. "This week's flown by."

His playful shyness came back, and he cast his gaze to the floor. "I-I was wondering…"

She came over more attentive.  
"I was going to take Bex out for a little drive, maybe to the city. If the others wanted to tag along, they can."  
She was pleasantly surprised by his offer. "Well…I know _Harry_ might want to. Jess, on the other hand…"  
"It'd just be nice to get them out for a bit – and give you a bit of peace and quiet." He winked cheekily.  
Karen knew it wasn't going to take long for Chris's cheekiness to come back.  
"Maybe even give you a bit of…time to yourself." He casually handed her a pink envelope.  
She opened it, revealing a glossily laminated ticket. "Chris…what _is_ this?"  
"Oh…just a little something to help with all that tension you've been having lately." He quipped. "A few days so you can just get away for a bit."  
"Th-this must've cost you a few hundred quid." She breathed.  
"If you don't wanna go for it, I'll have them back…" He teased.  
"Oh, no. No, I'd _love_ to go for it."  
"Better get your stuff sorted tonight so you can go up there then." He smirked playfully.  
"Thank you for this, Chris. That's very sweet of you." Karen planted a kiss on the young male's cheek.  
"Well, I've got to look after you." Chris winked, as he left the room.


	105. Chapter 105

Saturday morning.

"No way." Jess immediately retorted, her eyes turning hard. "I'm not letting _anyone_ take me _anywhere_."  
"Well, Chris _did_ extend the invitation to _you_ also, Jess." Karen stated firmly. "Don't you think you should at least give him a chance?"  
She rolled her eyes at her and stormed out of the lounge, coming across Harry, who looked ready to go.  
"Are you not coming?" He asked her.  
"Get a _grip_." She snapped. "I wouldn't be seen _dead_ with either of you."  
He gazed at his mother quizzically, but she only shook her head resignedly.  
Karen heard a familiar noise outside, and she peered out of the window to see Chris loitering around by his car. She couldn't help but eye him up and down, knowing that she should let him in.

Chris attentively peered up as the front door opened; Karen leant against the doorway, her eyes unable to resist wandering down his body. "Liking what you see?" He quipped.  
She smiled seductively. "You could say that."  
He came up to her, as her hands placed themselves on his hips.  
"Although it doesn't take much for you to look so good anyway." She let him in, and Harry was already waiting to be picked up. "You've got _one_ lucky person waiting for you."  
"What about…?" Chris started.  
"Don't get me started on _her_. I did try and get her to come out, but she wouldn't have any of it." Karen weakly admitted.  
"She hasn't long had a baby and she rarely goes outside. That's not exactly _healthy_, you know."  
"What _are_ you, my doctor?" Jess's voice came from the stairs.  
They peered up to see her petulantly gazing down at them.  
"Come _on_, Jess." He coaxed lightly. "You can't stay penned in a _house_ all day long when it's nice outside."  
Karen placed a hand on Chris's arm. "It's ok. She'll go her own way."

"Which isn't exactly a good thing." He came closer to the foot of the stairs, not done talking with her yet. "Maybe you can take your baby girl out as well…get some fresh air and get out into the sunshine."  
"I don't want _you_ taking me _anywhere_."  
It was clear that his coaxing wasn't working on her. "Ok." He shrugged. "Please yourself then."

Chris drove the three of them to the city and got them parked up. "So…wherever you guys wanna go, that's ok with me."  
Harry looked over at a girl who had caught his eye as they got out of the car and Chris looked over at him, following his gaze and knowing exactly why.  
"Someone getting your attention?" He quipped cheekily, bending down to his level.  
He nodded sheepishly. He was expecting him to go into deputy head mode, but he didn't.  
"Hey…" He started softly. "If you like her, go for it."  
He went off, startling Bex.

"What?" Chris questioned blankly.  
She smirked. "It's just funny seeing him like that."  
"Seeing him like what?"  
"Seeing him in love."  
He snaked his arms around her waist. "Well…once he's done collecting numbers from all his girlfriends, we can carry on can't we?"

"Bex, _no_…" Chris weakly protested, trying to pull himself back as she towed him to where she wanted to go. "Anywhere but one of _those_."  
"But you said we could anywhere we _liked_." She pouted cutely.

He smirked. "True…I did." He couldn't help but find her pouting cute.  
Harry, who had caught up with them, already started to look bored.  
"Getting bored, mate?" He assumed. "Let's get you outside."  
"But what about _me_?" Bex pointed out. "You're not going to leave me in _here_, are you?"  
"Now that _would_ be harsh." Chris got out a few banknotes and handed them to her. "Go nuts."  
"C-Chris…" She breathed. "Y-you can't be _serious_."  
"Well, I am." He gazed at her steadily. "Get whatever you want."  
"If this is all because you don't want to be in here, we can go somewhere else…" She started.

"There something wrong with me spending a little bit on you?" He stated. "If you _want_ something, _have_ it."

Once Bex had gone completely mad with the cash Chris gave to her, they sat outside for a bit.

She didn't know if was from the small bender she had, but there was something she'd been _meaning _to say to him for some time. "I think you're a _perfect_ parent, Chris."  
"Well…a _foster_ one anyway." He lightly pointed out.  
"Doesn't matter whether you're my real one or not." She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him close to her. "You're _perfect_."  
Chris felt a blush coming, and he had to avoid her gaze as she adoringly stared at him.  
"You put my _other_ two to shame."  
"Well…" He started coyly. "I just wanna make you feel special."  
"And you're doing a _very_ good job of that."  
They both looked over at Harry, as he'd started to go off with his crush again.  
"Harry likes you." Bex remarked. "Probably more so than our _real_ one." _Well, real one to he and Jess_, she thought slowly.  
Chris gazed at her dimly. "Did they not get on that well?"  
She shrugged. "I was only really around when Harry was a _baby_. But even then, dad didn't really bond much with him then."

He flitted his gaze away slowly. "It's a pity some people turn out that way."  
She nodded in agreement.

"It's also a pity I can't bond with him as closely as I would've liked."

Bex frowned. "How do you mean?"  
"Well I'm still a teacher to him, aren't I?"  
They sat there in silence for some time, both feeling happy enough to sit next to each other and to relax for a few minutes.

"So after this then…" She placed a hand on the young male's thigh. "Where do you want to go?"  
Chris smirked cheekily. "Up to _you_ two, isn't it?"


	106. Chapter 106

Karen closed her eyes as the hot water penetrated her sore, tired muscles; what was happening to her was something Chris was _surely_ unable to top.

Although, in principle, he _did_ pay for her to have it.

She closed her eyes, unable to think of nothing _but_ the young male – even when she was somewhere else and intending to take her mind off everything, _he_ was the one thing she could not deviate from.  
And the way he tried to resist her touch as she assaulted every part of his body; accessing areas that neither thought were sensitive and making him quiver under her with pleasure.  
His lips on hers, hands caressing at the sensitive of areas, both of them experiencing feelings and thoughts that were still so foreign and new to them.  
Thankful it was just her in the bath, Karen swiftly inched one hand down along the middle of her body, stopping at her navel, and caressing it slowly. It felt strange when coupled with it being underwater – it was a lighter and softer sensation, almost as though someone else was touching her.  
Even if that person happened to be…  
Her eyes flashed open, suddenly feeling _awkward_ at doing something so outwardly sordid as it was taking place in a completely different environment. But then again, why did she have to feel that way?  
She was there to _relax_, and if it meant for her to relax in more than just one way, then why _not_ go for it?  
Her eyes softly closed, sensing an almost delicate touch at her navel; she gasped as the touch moved further down, warm, tender sensations stroking away pain that had set itself quite deeply.  
"M-mmm…Oh, Chris…" Karen twisted around a little, hot shocks sliding their way down her back. "You do me _so_ well…"

A pair of warm, moist lips enclosed her lower lip, oscillating between sucking and licking on it. She slid her tongue along her lower lip as if to play back; the sensation and the thought of him doing something like that caused her lips to tingle with pleasure.  
She moved her legs further apart, arching her back as she felt a deep warm tingle in that area; her hips bucked with excitement, as softer touches assaulted her body and causing her to gasp softly.  
It was something _nothing_ could stop.  
"C-Chris…" She tilted her head back, pushing her hips forward against the stroking in an almost rocking motion. "O-oh…Chris…"  
The warm tingles got stronger, before exploding and dispersing rhythmically. "Chris!" She screamed out, slowing her thrusts.

_Never_ had a fantasy like that felt so _good_.

"Come on, Bex." There are _hundreds_ of places to go to. You must have _some_ idea of where you wanna go." Chris teased lightly.  
She shrugged.  
"Not _bored_, are you?" He smirked. "Or have you blown _all_ that cash that I gave you?"  
"I think I've got some left."  
He forked out a few more notes, but not as many as before. "That's all you're getting."  
"Chris…" Bex started. "I don't want you fussing over me like this."  
"Fussing over you like _what_?" Chris enquired. "You're _mine_ now. I get to treat you as _specially _as I wanna."  
She froze, which he didn't miss.  
"You look like you've seen a ghost." He followed her gaze, which happened to be behind him.  
"What do you mean, she's _yours_?" A familiarly stony voice asked him.  
He sharply turned round, seeing Charlie standing almost over them portentously.  
Chris's first reaction was to get Bex out of the way, in a protective sense of the term. "Why don't you go and leave us two for a few minutes?"  
"Not if he's going to _hurt_ you." She protested. "Chris, I'm not stupid, it's not going to be a friendly talk if that's what you're hoping to get out of this."  
"I know, Bex."  
She gazed at him anxiously. "He'll _hurt_ you."  
"We're in a _public place_." He told her softly. "And I'd rather me get hurt than _you_."  
Reluctantly, she did as he told her, and Charlie leant against the wall.  
"Say whatever you wanna say and then go." Chris told him warningly.  
The larger male fixed his stony gaze on him, not intending on making his talk with him a _social_ one. He knew it wouldn't take much to stop him. "So you take my _daughter_ now."  
He shrugged. "Got a problem with it? Raise it with _Karen_."  
He smirked mockingly. "That's just you all over, isn't it?"  
"Don't know what you mean."  
"You know full well." Charlie put to him ominously. "The pair of you doing it like rabbits god knows where. She doesn't love you."  
Chris flitted his gaze away. "Oh, and she loves _you_?"  
"You don't know the meaning of the word."  
He sharply got up, not afraid to confront him.  
Charlie was impressed at his behaviour. He was surprised he had the guts to act as _big_ as he was trying to.  
"And _you_ do, I take it." His eyes came over harsh yet dim. "_Assaulting_ her is a sure way of getting _that_ through to her."  
"You take my _kids_, you take my _wife_…what else are you going to take next?" He growled at the younger male. "Don't tell me _marriage_ between you is on the cards."  
He was shocked to have the larger of the two pull him up and pin him to the wall behind him.  
"You just want to take _everything_ off me, Chris."

Karen closed her eyes as two hands dexterously worked their way along and into her flesh; she didn't realise how tense she'd been.  
It reminded her of when _Chris_ did all of that to her – especially that night when he took her to bed, having already lit a few tealights that were dotted around the room. He did that so quickly, it was almost as though he'd done it _by magic_.  
_  
So if you would care to take that sexy dress off and let me see that beautiful body of yours…  
_

Karen didn't know why she felt so nervous as she did so, but at the same time she was _excited_; she shuddered at the memory of how he looked at her, admiring the way the dress that she wore slowly glided down from her ample chest area and fell into a neat pile on the floor.

_Perfect…just…absolutely perfect._

There was a desire in the young male's voice, as well as the unmistakable pleasure she could see in his eyes – the light from the small candles made them sparkle and catch even more of the blueness in them. She could've said the same about them – but was too overtaken by modesty by his comment to do so.

_You seem a bit shy, Mrs Fisher_.

Karen tried to hold the fact back that she was shy, but she had to be honest and say so and not just lie to him. She felt a warmth gather in between her legs at the feeling of his kiss at her navel as he pulled her towards him.

_You've got absolutely nothing to be shy about…you're perfect._

She almost cried out in pleasure from his soft, affectionate licking at her navel, nudging the tip of his tongue against it and causing her to glow inside.

The two hands moved further down her body, coming to the sides of her waist; the fingers on either side curved round into the far sides of her stomach, causing her to arch her back in pleasure.  
The scent of the room she was in reminded her of Chris – the sensations she felt almost matched that of the way he made her feel – and he made her feel _so good_.

Why did they have to end it when they had such a good thing going?


	107. Chapter 107

Bex didn't feel completely at ease about leaving Chris with the disconcerting presence of her "father", but she did what he told her to, which was to blow the rest of the cash he gave her – give her some of distraction of what would possibly meet her by the time she was done doing that.  
Done with her _second_ although slightly _forced_ bender, she went back to where she'd left the two males, _shocked_ at what she saw.

The young male was sitting on a low wall nearby, however was slightly bent over.  
"C-Chris?" Why did Bex suddenly not feel good at his posture? "Chris, are you ok?"  
Chris felt himself feel sick; he could barely concentrate on anything, apart from hearing everything around him as muffled noise.  
"What did he do to you?" She wrapped an arm around him, feeling him shudder a little.  
Harry came up, looking slightly anxious. "Has something happened?"  
"I don't think he's very well." Bex told her brother.  
Chris didn't know what was going to happen to him, but he felt it was fair to assume that he didn't feel _good_.  
"I'll have to get him sorted out." She told him.

"Come on, let's get you sitting down." Bex got Chris into the disabled toilets, and got him to sit down on the low windowsill; she could make out a faint bruise under his eye and she tenderly skimmed her thumb over it, but lightly enough so as not to hurt it. "He got you good there, didn't he?"  
He shuddered as she placed a pile of wet tissue against the bruise. He then realised how _Karen _must've felt when he iced that black eye for her that time – which she failed to cover up.  
"It's ok, it's ok." Bex inched closer to him, taking in the young male's appearance; he calmed down a little, probably as she was with him, but there was something about his demeanour she couldn't quite _nail_.  
Chris couldn't look straight at her as the bruising started to go down; he felt _awful_. Well, maybe not so much _awful_, but _guilty_. Guilty that he didn't do enough to _protect_ himself.  
"Now that that's going down nicely, did he get you anywhere else?" She asked him.  
"I don't think so."  
"Chris…" She smirked a little, trying to reassure him. "I know what he's like. He's not the sort to have given you _just_ a black eye. Now are you sure he got you nowhere else?"  
"_Very_ sure."  
Bex nodded. "Ok. Well, maybe we should go home once you feel better and you feel up to driving."  
"I don't wanna go back home till you say you've had enough of being here." Chris pointed out.  
"Well I've pretty much spent everything you've _given_ to me."  
"Oh." He peered down at the floor. "O-ok."  
"Now are you sure you'll be ok?"  
"I'll be _fine_." He shakily got up from sitting down, and she towed him out after grabbing him by his wrist.  
They came across Harry who was just outside.  
"He's feeling better now." Bex assured him. "He should be ok to drive."

Bex had tried to divert Chris's gaze away from the bedroom's blank wall in front of him for over _twenty minutes_; he hadn't moved from that position ever since he dropped Harry back off at his mum's and got back with her to his. "Chris…"  
He didn't respond.

"Chris, what did my dad say to you?"  
He still said nothing but she placed a hand on his, rubbing it softly.  
"I know you're still shaken after what had happened, but once you tell me what had gone on, you won't be as frightened and you might start feeling better."  
He gazed at her slowly, relieving her due to the fact that he'd finally managed to prise his gaze away from the wall and bringing himself more out of his daze. "H-he just said I was _stealing_ you off him."  
Bex frowned. "Why would he say that? He never even _bonded_ with me."  
"I don't know. Maybe he was trying to get at me for sleeping with your _mum_." Chris peered down at the floor. "Makes sense I guess."  
"No." She sat closer to him. "No, it doesn't."  
"A-and he told me to keep away from you all."  
"Chris, listen…" She continued with her soft rubbing. "I don't want you to keep away from us. _None_ of us do. We love you, very much. You've done such a lot for all of us – to leave _now_…none of us would _cope_ with that."  
"Apart from Jess." He smirked playfully.  
She was glad his humour was still there. "Well, apart from her. But ignore him, ok? He never bonded with Harry and I, or Jess for that matter. He only ever _fought_ with mum; it was one fight after another. We're far better off _now_ than we were to start with. Don't think of taking that away."  
"Bex, I would _never_ take that away." Chris gazed at her softly, unable to tear himself away from her bright eyes; shakily, he cupped her face with one hand, unsure as to why he was touching her the way he did. "I-I love you…"  
Bex smiled softly. "I know you do, you doughnut."  
"No, I mean _really_ love you."  
She knew that anything remotely sexual between them was a definite no-no; but she was attracted to him and he was attracted to her – there was just no way the adoption would work out with sexual tension like that. "…What do you want to do?" She asked him carefully after some time.

"I know what I _wanna_ do." Chris admitted slowly. "But what I _wanna_ do is something we both should steer clear from."  
"You're attracted to me, and I'm attracted to you." She could make it out no problem. "If you want me, have me."

"No." He pulled himself away, knowing that he _had_ to control his urges, _however _strong they were.  
"Chris…" Bex cupped his face with one hand, rubbing her nose playfully against his. "If this is something you really want…_have_ it."  
He found himself in a _difficult_ predicament; his pulse raced as their lips hovered dangerously close to each other, but he withdrew again. A good idea was to maybe change the subject – make the contact between them _innocuous_ again. "…Did you get on ok with the practice papers I gave to you?"  
"I think so." She handed him one she finished.

"Y-you _finished_ it?"  
She nodded, smiling a little.  
"When I go back to work Monday, I'll go through it and mark it…see how well you did."  
"I'm sorry." She peered down at the floor.

"What _for_?"  
"For wanting to kiss you." Bex put to Chris quietly. "I just…I can't _stop_ these urges I have for you and I feel like I want you so badly."  
"It's something that neither of us are going to be able to take any further – not until the adoption passes or we dissolve it." He admitted. _Plus stopping all the naughty stuff Karen seems to wanna do to me_.  
"And the stigma it'd cause at school…"

He nodded. "They're both complications, aren't they?"  
She nodded slowly.  
"For now, we'll keep things the way they are…but if these urges _are_ still getting hard to control, then we're going to have to do something about it."  
"Like _what_?"  
Chris didn't seem sure. "I-I don't know."


	108. Chapter 108

Monday morning.  
Chris was _shocked_ to realise what the time was; he was surprised at how long he'd slept for.  
He gazed over at Bex, who was still sleeping on her side with her back to him; her long blonde hair was swept onto her pillow on her side of the bed, and as he rolled onto his side, he carefully twirled some of the long strands with his fingers.  
"I'm sorry, Bex…" He slowly put to her. "I'm sorry I feel like this."  
She stirred softly in her sleep, as he leant a little over her and placed a sugar-soft kiss to her temple.  
"I _do_ love you, sweetheart." He peered into her closed eyes. "But you're someone I just can't have…not for now, anyway."  
Chris got up, sitting on the edge of the bed his side but looked over at Bex a few times before getting up _properly_. Yes, he _did_ feel something for her, and although she felt _better_, there was still so much desire for protection – for him to hold her close and reassure her, yet do much _naughtier_ things to her.  
He slipped his shirt on, gazing over at her as she shifted herself onto her back through her sleep; he swiftly fixed his gaze on the practice paper that she'd handed to him the night before, which had dropped onto the floor – luckily it didn't land in such an awkward position that would've caused it to crease.  
He retrieved it, before folding back a stray long bang. "Just stay there and get better for me."

Cesca leant against Chris's doorway, as he went through the practice paper Bex had managed to complete. "_You're_ keen."  
He peered up to see her gazing at him. "Oh. I'm not doing anything _special_…"  
"Seems like it from where I am."  
"It's only a practice paper I gave to Bex. She'd been missing out on some of the mock tests, so I gave her some to go through in her own time while she's getting better." He drew another tick.  
"Aww. That's really thoughtful of you."  
"Well…you know. Planning ahead and all that." He shrugged innocently.

"And you reckon you'd get her up to speed by the time she has to take her _real_ ones?"  
He smiled softly. "She's going in the right direction for that."  
"That's because you're so good at _doing_ that."  
Chris felt himself go a little red. "I try to."  
"Aww…you're so _modest_." Cesca placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it a little. "You're a good teacher, Chris…"  
He felt the blush deepen.  
"You're a better one than you're letting everyone else to think."

Bex stirred from the flat door closing; she looked over at the time, surprised to find that she'd been in bed all day.  
Chris came into the room, his bright blue eyes sparkling.  
"So how did I do?"  
He smiled widely. "You did _perfectly_."  
"I did what?" She gasped out.  
"A hundred percent." He sat next to her on the edge of the bed. "If you go through another one of these and do the same, you'll have _no_ problem passing the _proper_ ones. Maybe you might even be well enough to go back before the end of the week…if you felt _up_ to it."  
"But Chris…" She came closer to him. "Just because I did well on _one_ practice paper, doesn't mean I'm going to do as perfectly on the second or on the _real_ one."  
"Bex…" He tilted her head up to meet his gaze. "You're doing _fine_. Don't worry about getting a perfect result. The main thing is you _passed_."  
She nodded slowly.

Chris couldn't help but feel there was something she wasn't quite telling him. "You _did_ do this without any help, right?"  
"O-of course…"  
He frowned a little. "As long as you _did_. I don't want you _cheating_."  
"No. No, I didn't cheat." Bex flitted her gaze away from him. "I just want to do as well as I can."  
"I don't want you to push yourself and I don't want a _perfect_ score out of you." He stated. "Is that settled?"  
Bex nodded again. "I just want to make you happy."  
"You've already done that." He placed a hand on top of hers, unsure of how far he should take it.  
She knew that the way both of them were looking at each other was dangerous – it could so easily lead them into doing _other_ things. "I don't know what you mean."  
Chris's eyes dimmed in confusion and he withdrew from the realisation of their proximity. "Sorry."  
"Don't be sorry, it's ok. Nothing happened." She placed a hand on his thigh. "This is something that's not going to go away, isn't it?"  
"It won't go away unless the adoption ends." He clarified. "Which means I'd be seeing your _mum_ on top of seeing _you_." And having to have _two_ relationships on the go, well, may be flattering for some people, but not for himself. Especially when he's thinking of _ending_ one of them.  
"Mum doesn't have to know though, Chris." Bex assured him. "She can still assume the adoption's still going ahead."

"That doesn't make it any _better_ though."  
She nodded.  
Chris looked over at the time. "I guess you don't feel much like eating right now, do you?"  
"Well…I don't feel _empty_ as such." She admitted.  
He nodded dimly. "Let me know when you feel like it."

The next day.  
Bex timidly came into Chris's room, watching him jump out of his chair at the sight of her. "Nice to see you too."  
"Why are you here?"  
"To make sure you're ok." She sidled up to him, placing a hand in between his legs. "And if you wanted a bit of…"  
"Bex." He started. "For a start, people will _see_ us. Secondly, you should be on a break, and thirdly, I don't _feel_ like it." A red blush started to appear at his cheeks from the rubbing, proving him wrong.

"Hmm…I think someone's telling me porkies." Bex smirked seductively. "Well, I can help with all _three_ of those problems."  
Chris said nothing; he was more interested in what she was thinking of doing with him.  
She pulled him up against her by his tie; their lips shamelessly pressed into each other, and she towed him out of sight of prying eyes.  
He closed his eyes and whimpered loudly as she pressed her lips against his neck; he moved his legs slightly more apart when she stroked him over and over, and he was sure he was going to have to take his trousers off because of how ridiculously hard he'd gotten.  
Bex felt the young male's firm stomach muscles pull themselves in slightly from hard excitement; she was excited from the action. "You want this then, do you, Sir?"  
Now to be referred by that was something Chris should not have gotten any pleasure out of – but for some reason it was _sexy_ if not _lewd_ at the same time. Heck, who knew about them both doing it in the storage cupboard anyway?  
His eyes were partially closed from excitement as the rubbing continued.  
She was surprised at how hard he'd become, and she slid her thigh under the rigidity, causing him to squeak. "If you _want_ it, you can _have_ it."


	109. Chapter 109

Bex was surprised at the young male's dexterity; she closed her eyes at the sweet fluids hitting the back of her throat as he furiously bucked his hips downward.  
She placed her hands on his legs, caressing the silky skin at his calves. She squeezed the muscle there, taken aback at the firmness.  
Chris had leant back against the shelves, placing his hands on one of them behind him as if to ground himself. His pushes came shakier as the muscles in his pelvis and lower stomach started to throb intensely. The stroking at his legs was certainly not making it any easier for him to resist.  
Bex was aware of a rhythmic thudding sound within the small confined space they were in – she'd hoped no one could hear them.  
But at the same time, it was a noise that she found _sexy_.  
Chris's thrusts had sped up before he gasped in pleasure; he slowed his movements against the shelves and shakily twirled some of her blonde hair with his fingers.  
"So was that good?"  
He dimly nodded. "What's the time?"  
She looked at her watch. "Just gone twenty past ten."

He managed to pull his trousers back up his legs and belt them back up again; he was surprised at how exhausted that had made him.  
"Maybe next break…another place, another position."  
"If you want."  
Bex frowned at how indifferent Chris sounded. "If you don't want it, then just say."  
"I'm worried people will find out." He admitted. "And if your _mum_ were to find out…Bex, I'd be in so much _trouble_, I'd be sent packing, I _know_ I will."

"Come on." She snaked her arms around his slender waist, pulling his body against hers. "Live a little. Or do you not want to live dangerously on the edge by having fun like this?"

"What's going on in here?"  
Bex turned round to see Karen had come into the room; luckily both of them had pulled away far enough so as not to give her the impression anything suggestive had gone on between them.  
"Chris, can I see you a second?"  
He nodded, slowly emerging from the storage cupboard as Bex placed a hand on his wrist as if to say 'I'll catch up with you later'.  
Once both of them were alone, she watched Chris go over to his desk and shakily sit down behind it. Little did she know he felt wobbly on his feet due to him just about recovering from a massive climax. "I see Bex is back in then."

"Oh…yeah. It's her first day back today…she seemed well enough to come back in." He pensively went through the practice paper she did, anything to make it look like nothing naughty between them had happened.  
"But with the exams coming up, is she not going to find it a bit difficult to get up to speed with the others?"  
"No _need_ to." He perkily flitted his gaze to her.  
Karen was worried at him taking such an offhand attitude towards Bex's progress. "You're making it sound like you've given up on her."  
"No. No, of course not." Chris smirked softly. "She's going to be fine."  
She seemed confused.  
"I gave Bex some practice papers to go through while she was getting better."  
"And…? She did ok, right?"  
His eyes sparkled reassuringly. "She did _more_ than ok, Karen."  
She swallowed hard, focusing her gaze on the floor somewhere.  
He noticed her seemingly worried expression. "Everything ok?"  
She nodded dimly. "I had Charlie's divorce through yesterday."  
"Oh." He wasn't expecting _that_. What was going on between them was going to be little _more_ than a matter of convenience, which was his initial thought. Ending it between them was going to be harder than he first realised. "Was that something you weren't expecting?"  
Karen smiled weakly. "It was something that was bound to happen sooner or later, Chris."  
Chris didn't even know why he was acting quite formally with her. "Bit of a shock, is it?"  
"I shouldn't be shocked. I've got _you_ now, haven't I?"  
He smiled coyly, knowing that he wished he just look up at her and say it was over. But it wasn't going to be easy – not when the person he wanted to make love to happens to be her daughter.  
"Are _you_ ok? You seem awfully distracted."  
He nodded slowly. "Just a bit tired, I guess." What from, he wanted to keep to himself. But he didn't want to break it off with Karen just like that. "You wanna come over to mine later?"  
"Not if you need to sleep."  
"I-if you wanted help with the divorce papers, was what I was thinking. And maybe a drink or two if you wanted." Chris noted coyly.  
She smiled softly. "I'd like that." Before she left, she turned back to him. "Don't you find it a bit strange that Charlie only just decided to file for divorce?"  
"Well…a little." He admitted. "Maybe he wanted to give it another go with you before he did so."  
Karen shrugged. "Well, for whatever reason, it wasn't going to make me take him back."  
He went to get back to his marking.  
"Not when I've got someone like _you_."

Chris couldn't help but feel that little bit uncomfortable; he and Karen were sitting round at his place and had been sitting like that for well over half an hour going over the divorce papers she'd received.

"This couldn't be _all_ you wanted me to see you about." She teased lightly.

"Well…no." He shyly looked away, secretly not wanting to break it off with her. He loved her too much to do so, and having _both_ women at once was tearing him to pieces.

Karen didn't sense Chris's slight diffidence. "I mean…inviting me round for a couple of drinks – you weren't thinking of getting me into bed with you, were you, Mr Mead?"  
He was a _little_ relieved that she didn't twig what he really wanted her over for. It wasn't even his intention to get her jacked up so the pair of them could get to it, as he knew he had to explain to her, one way or another, the _real_ reason.

Plus, he respected her too much to even _attempt_ anything like that.  
"I wanted to end it with you, Karen." He admitted quietly, deciding to look anywhere but straight at her. "I'm sorry."

"But…_why_?" She asked, aghast. "Chris, we get on well, we _love_ each other…what's the problem?"

"The problem isn't with _us_, it's something that concerns something _outside_ the relationship. And I don't know how to stop it."  
Karen came closer to Chris, placing a hand on his thigh. "Whatever it is, we can work through it."  
"I seriously doubt that." He wanted to make their relationship work, he really did, but he didn't want to tell her the real reason he wanted to end it between them – as he knew it would destroy her. "I never meant for any of this to happen, but –"  
"Chris." She stroked him reassuringly. "Just tell me. It's ok. I know the way you feel towards me, and I feel just as strongly for you. That won't change, no matter what the problem."  
He swallowed hard, as she placed an index finger under his jaw and tilted his head back up so he could look straight at her.

"I love you." Karen put to the young male softly. "Never forget that."  
"A-and I love you _too_, but this is too big a problem."  
"Just tell me already." She smiled softly. "I won't think any less of you."  
Chris paused for a few seconds before coming to the conclusion that he really _had_got himself into a hole and there was no way of getting back out again unless he told her. "I didn't mean to hurt you…"

"It's ok." She came closer to him. "It's ok now. You know I'll forgive you."  
He looked straight into her eyes, which surprisingly had softened. He half-expected them to retain their hardness due to how dark they were. "I've been doing things with Bex." And with that, he cast his gaze away again, back onto the floor.  
He hated to find out what sort of expression Karen was left with.


	110. Chapter 110

Karen didn't know what to say for a few seconds; she didn't take her hand away from Chris's thigh, slowly stroking at it in a reassuring way. In a way, she _expected_ he and Bex to have done _something_ naughty together, but while she was _adopted_ to him?  
Chris remained where he was, not wanting to move away from the stroking, but at the same time not wanting to have to be subjected to her anger that he was _sure_ he could see coming.  
His chest felt heavy and the muscles in his body felt weighed down. What from, he wasn't sure, but he simply put it down to sheer _guilt_. He waited patiently for her to absorb his few yet guilt-ridden words and then assault him with a succession of abusive ones.  
"I don't deserve any forgiveness from you, Karen." He spoke softly, not knowing what sort of temperament she was in. "W-what I did was _unspeakable_ I know…and I felt guilty even when I _did_ it."  
Karen gazed up at him dimly.

"I feel guilty now." Chris added, continuing to speak as softly as he could to alleviate the atmosphere between them, which was close to becoming so hard anyone could cut it. "This is the _worst_ I've felt than when we did all that."  
And he knew _why_.  
She jumped as he shakily placed a hand on her shoulder, his bright blue eyes softening into mushy blue pools. She was shocked at the emotion he was expressing with them.  
"I love you…so, so much." He could say that over and over again. "God, I love you…"  
To his surprise, she placed a hand on top of his and caressed it softly. "I know you didn't mean to hurt me, Chris."  
Chris was surprised to hear that coming from her.  
"I don't think any less of you, but _why_ did you do it?"  
He didn't seem so sure himself. "I wanted to _protect_ her. That was all I ever _wanted_. I wanted to give her as much protection as I could, a-and I guess it turned into something else. Something a lot _deeper_."  
Karen nodded attentively. "Bex _does_ adore you. She loves you to bits. I agree with what you're telling me, but I think she's been out of touch for so long, that no matter how much you want to protect her and keep her safe from everything else…"  
"…It's just not going to happen." He assumed.  
She smiled weakly.  
"Then why do I feel so strongly for her?"  
She gazed into his bright blue eyes, which had toned down a little after realising he wasn't going to be subjected to any verbal tirades from her. "Maybe it's because you just wanted to help."  
Chris couldn't disagree with _that_. "I don't blame you if you wanna end it with me…"  
"No." She reassured him. "No, I could _never_ dream of ending it with you."  
He was surprised at how well Karen was taking all of that. He blankly gazed at her as she fixed her eyes onto his. "S-so what now?"

"Well…we've gone through the divorce papers together, which you've been _very_ helpful with."  
He gazed away shyly.

"And you've told me all of this that's been eating away at you…oh, and I've finished my second drink." She casually threw in.

He felt he could relax after she played down what had been bothering him. And in a way, that was what he _wanted_. What happened between him and Bex was something he wanted to put behind him. "Well, in _that_ case, I'd better get you another, hadn't I? Else I wouldn't be doing my job properly."  
Karen smiled playfully as Chris took her glass from her. "Are you sure I haven't reached my limit yet?"

"You haven't reached your limit till you're on the floor." He teased flirtily.  
She _loved _it when he flirted. Coming from him, it was quite cute and slightly coy.  
He handed her back the refilled glass of white wine, which she took thankfully.

"Ok, so let me put this to you."  
He tilted his head attentively.  
"If I were to want to _kiss_ you…would that mean I've reached my limit?"  
Chris cast his gaze away pensively. "Well…depends on how _well_ you kiss me."  
She _liked_ playing along with him like that. She inched closer to him, placing a hand on his thigh. "So if it was a _sloppy_ kiss…that'd be it then."

"Oh. _Definitely_." He put to her teasingly. "But if you insist on me wanting to be your test subject for a few minutes…"  
Karen felt warm inside at the prospect of kissing the young male – kissing him the way she _used_ to. She pressed her lips to his, taking in their soft moistness; she gently slid her lips downward onto his lower lip, sucking at it.  
He closed his eyes in acceptance as he leant further into her and played back; he slipped his tongue into her mouth, as she did the same. She softly slid her tongue against his, so that he could get a very subtle hint of white wine that she'd drank. The action if not the taste coming into his mouth caused him to whimper.  
They gently withdrew, gazing into each other's eyes.  
Chris felt his breath get caught in his throat as Karen had secretly wrapped an arm around him and slid her finger up and down his spine.  
"So what's your verdict on that then?" She asked him huskily.

He shook his head hazily, a slight rosy blush appearing at his cheeks.  
"Hmm…" Karen drew circles on his thigh. "I'll take that as another way of saying that I haven't."

He felt a warmth settle in his stomach, which moved more southerly to his hips; it certainly didn't help when she slid a hand under his shirt and caressed him over his stomach.  
"Well, I guess I should thank you for letting me test on you." She teased lightly, gazing into his eyes, which were misted over from excitement. "But I think we should move the test onto the next level."  
"W-which is what?" Chris asked in the most innocent of ways.  
"Take a lucky guess." She swiftly moved her hand from his flat stomach to the _very_ warm hardness in between his legs. She gazed at him knowingly. "I think you might want to take these off, Mr Mead – before they get too…_uncomfortable_ for you." She accentuated "uncomfortable" by giving him a small squeeze there, causing him to arch his back against the sofa.  
He couldn't help but get a little bit of excitement at feeling the extreme tightness of his trousers against the ever growing hardness.  
"Don't you think we should do something to…_relieve_ you of these?"

Chris lay, heavily breathing, in amongst the bed sheets; Karen had positioned herself on top of him, straddling his leg as she held him through his afterglow.  
"Something tells me that was a big one." She put to him.

"Th-that was just _so_ _good_." He admitted.  
"Well…I aim to please." She delicately stroked her index finger over the spot just under his navel, causing him to close his eyes and gasp softly. "Wow…you _did_ like that." She exclaimed, feeling his hips twitch from leftover pleasure. 


	111. Chapter 111

"You're lucky Bex didn't catch us both at it." Chris put to Karen cheekily, rolling onto his side so their bodies could press up against each other.  
She hadn't realised Bex wasn't there. Then again, how often did she come over to his in the first place, since he adopted her?  
"Looks like I picked a good _day_ for you to come over." He winked saucily.  
"Where _is_ she anyway?"  
"She's at the mental hospital." He shakily sat up, thankful the afterglow had died off when it did, else he _never_ would've managed to get up again.  
"Chris, you…didn't take her back there."  
"No!" Chris smirked. "No…she gets counselling there once a week. She's only just started but she gets a few sessions just to get rid of the worst of the traumatic stress."  
Karen placed a hand on his thigh. "I know you care a lot about her, Chris, but what you're doing for her…"

"…I know it's not going to be enough." He admitted. "It might not ever go away. But it'll help her in the short-term."  
She nodded slowly. "When are you going to tell her?"  
"What, that I wanna end it?" When she nodded again, he shrugged. "I don't know…it's not that simple, is it?"

Once both of them _eventually_ got round to getting dressed again, Chris made sure Karen left in plenty of time so that she and Bex missed each other and didn't cross; he went all the way out to the main door, leaning against the doorway.  
She couldn't _help_ but stare at him as his bright eyes glistened in the soft light behind him. "You do realise that however she's going to take it…"  
"…That you _love_ me." He smirked playfully. "I know."  
She pressed her lips to his, wanting more of what she was going to miss for a few hours. She _longed_ for contact, to feel him – to _touch_ him.  
"Just go already." Chris noted teasingly. "Before she _does_ turn up and catch us at it."

It wasn't long before Bex got back to Chris's flat.  
She came into the bedroom, seeing the young male sitting up – naked, or as _good_ as. "You're keen to want to get it over with."

"It's not for what you think." He noted.  
"Chris…how stupid do you think I am? You're _naked_. And you knew I was going to want to come to bed as soon as I got back."  
"Doesn't mean I wanna try anything _on_ with you." Chris quickly lied down and rolled onto his side, with his back facing her.  
Bex noticed his strange behaviour, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Has something happened?"  
"No."  
"Then why are you acting so strangely?"  
"I just…I don't know." He softly closed his eyes, suddenly realising how hard it was going to be to actually open his mouth and say he wanted to end it with her. "I'm sorry, I _did_ have a rough day."  
"Aww…" She came closer to him. "Then why not say so? Silly boy." She placed her other hand on his other shoulder, squeezing at the firm yet slightly tense muscle.  
Chris mentally kicked himself for being so stupid. He was starting to wish he just came out and said it. "Ok, I'm going to be honest with you, Bex."

Bex was almost startled as he sat up, bringing his legs up to his chest.  
"This isn't because of anything you've done or what I've done…this is purely based on feelings."  
She nodded dimly.

"I'm still in love with your mum."  
"O-ok." She let him carry on.  
"A-and I wanna end it with you." He waited for her to make some comment, but that never happened. "I know I've done a lot for you, but the feelings she and I have for each other aren't going to stop."  
"I understand." She said slowly.  
"Y-you _do_?" Wow. That was easy enough.

She smiled softly. "I was always going to get in the way of you both." She took hold of his hands. "You're doing the right thing about this."  
Chris swallowed hard. He knew there were outstanding things both of them had to talk through. "B-but you're going to have to move out…the adoption will have to end. Where are you going to go?"  
"Chris…" Bex stroked him over his hands with her thumbs. "It's ok. I'll think of somewhere."

"I don't want you to go if you're going to have problems going elsewhere."  
"I won't have any problems. Not if I get a job of my own…"

"But that takes time." He noted. "You can always apply for some as you're waiting for your exam results. I still don't want you to fall behind on those again, as you worked hard to get yourself there."

"That's all in hand." She reassured him.

Chris felt tears standing in his eyes, and he found himself riveted to the spot as she carefully reached out and wiped an escaping tear from the corner of his eye.  
"Ssh…it's ok." Bex spoke soothingly. "Don't feel bad about this, it's ok now."  
"I do love you." He admitted. "But it's like I said before…I just can't have you. _Ever_."  
She smiled softly and nodded. "But we had a good time together, right?"

"Of course."  
"I guess I should thank you for helping me get back on track with the exams." She put to him suddenly.

His eyes sparkled cheekily. "I wish _all_ the students I've ever taught could say the same." He came a little closer. "But you don't have to do that."

Two months later.  
"Just had a text back from Bex." Chris stated to Karen, as they sat together in the office during their second break.  
"Really?" She'd lost track of how long it'd been since either of them got into contact with her.

"You're going to _like_ this." He let her read the text message he got through.  
"Sh-she _passed_." She breathed, eagerly. "A-a hundred percent as well."  
"I taught her _well_." He noted teasingly. "Knew she could do it."  
Karen gazed at Chris more, her eyes wider. "You'd better let her know about the wedding date."  
"Aww." He sounded crestfallen. "Must I?"  
"Yes, you _must_."  
"She's going to wanna be our bridesmaid." He protested, although he couldn't help but find it cute at the thought of Bex wearing a bridesmaid dress and carrying a small bouquet of flowers.  
"Well, you _do_ find her special."  
"Yeah…but she's my special _girl_." He teased. "_You_, however, are my special _lady_." He planted a kiss on her forehead as he held her closer to him.  
"Is the idea for the honeymoon ok?" Karen asked Chris.

"_Sure_ it is. I didn't wanna splash out on anything too far away." He noted.  
"Oh, so a few days away out of the county is far away enough for you?"  
He smirked playfully. "Just so long as I get to take you with me."  
She closed her eyes as she took in that seductively sweet yet musky scent on his skin.  
"You know those few days you had off did make me miss you." He admitted softly, feeling warm as she nestled her head against his chest.  
"I _definitely_ missed you."  
"Oh?" Chris sensed a slight wantonness in her voice. "Something you care to enlighten me about?"  
Karen smiled cheekily. "A few times I fantasised about you."  
"_F-Fantasised_?" He felt _flattered _that she even did that. A small blush reached his cheeks as he coyly looked away. "Not enough to make you _go_, surely."

She gazed up at him and nodded.  
"Karen Fisher, you dirty girl." He stated.  
"Oh, and don't tell _me_ that _you_ didn't do the same thing while _I_ was gone." She teased.

"O-ok. Once maybe…" Chris noticed her smile widen a little. "Ok, you _got_ me. A _few_ times."  
"So you can talk."  
He took her hands with his, allowing their fingers to intertwine. "I guess that's how we both know how much we feel for each other."

Karen felt his bright blue eyes fix themselves onto hers.  
"The attraction we have, the way we turn each other on…and the way we both look at each other." He inched closer to her, wanting so much more than to just look at her. "The way we _touch_ each other…"  
She felt warm tingles go to every part of her as he silkily ran a hand up her thigh under her skirt. She couldn't help but think what he was doing was slightly pervy, but maybe she _wanted_ it.  
"And the way we _kiss_ each other…well, maybe we should put all of that a little more into practice, wouldn't you agree?" Chris taunted, longing to do more with her than just sit there for another ten minutes and talk. "Because I know that's what you _want_."  
Karen carefully sat down on the floor, taking him down with her; he certainly didn't help the situation when he mounted her, his legs straddling hers.  
"And it's something _I_ want." His lips hovered dangerously over hers, and as they connected, it was something neither of them had felt.  
There was a _naughtiness_ about it, maybe as they were both on a break and in a somewhat public area where anyone could just walk in and see them at it.  
Hot shocks went to both of their bodies, as the kissing deepened; hands started to pull at each other's clothes, hips moved together – it was a cadenced interlude of movement between them.  
They both wished that break was one that _never_ ended.


	112. Chapter 112

A/N – I've got to admit, I wasn't entirely happy with the way this one ended.  
Felt it ended a bit abruptly…  
A-a-a-and on it goes!

Karen and Chris both lay, heavily breathing, on the office floor together; their naked bodies were pressed up against each other, almost melting into one, and their legs had wrapped around each other protectively.  
"Is it time to start thinking about getting dressed yet?" She mumbled dimly, feeling her afterglow wear off.  
"Not for another three minutes." He planted a kiss on the top of her head, feeling her settle more comfortably against him.

That was what she liked about Chris; he was slender, but he still had a bit of muscle on him, which made him _ideal _for anyone to nestle up to. He felt so warm and soft as he curled up with her. "Even if it _was_ time to get up…"  
He gazed down at her attentively.  
"You'd _still_ make it hard for me."  
"Oh, I see." He shifted himself away slightly, rolling onto his stomach so he could look at her better. "Can't get enough of me, is that what you're saying?"  
Karen smiled softly. "Maybe…"

Once both of them were dressed, Chris went to leave her to it when she stopped him by grabbing his wrist.  
"Are you sure things with us are ok?" She asked him anxiously.  
"Why do you say that?"  
She cast her gaze away. "With the honeymoon…"  
He smiled a little, not put off by her words. "Not romantic enough?"

"No! No, I'm sure it's more romantic than anywhere else, but…as long as _you're_ ok with not spending a lot on it."  
His eyes shimmered in a strange yet reassuring way. "If it's something you don't want, than we can go somewhere else. We can go _wherever_ you want."  
"But I don't want us to go somewhere _you_ don't."  
Chris came closer to her. "I don't mind _where_ we go. As long as I'm with _you_."  
Karen nodded softly. "Ok."  
"So you wanna scrap the idea of going somewhere local and go somewhere a little more…_exotic_, then?" He assumed teasingly, sliding his hips up against hers. "You ask a lot, don't you?"  
"Well, if you can't _give_ me it…" She ran her index finger along the underside of his jaw. "I'd like to know _why_."

A few weeks later.

Bex stood, admiring herself in the changing room's mirror; the dress she'd got into clung to her perfectly, accentuating her curves in all the right places.  
"How is it, love?" Karen's voice came from outside.

"Y-yeah…ok, I guess." She saw the curtain move a little, and she knew it wasn't from the _draught_.  
Two hands placed themselves on her shoulders. "Perfect."  
She smiled nervously.  
"Is everything ok?" She wanted to know.

"Fine." She anxiously lied. She then frowned. "How is this going to be paid for?"  
"Chris offered to pay for it."  
Bex swallowed hard. "I-I don't want him to pay for something that's going to work out too pricey."  
Karen smiled softly. "Bex, this is _our_ wedding, and if Chris has offered to pay for it, then that's up to him. He doesn't mind, anyway."  
She nodded slowly. "O-ok."

Chris peered up from where he was sitting in his flat to see Karen had come back in. "So how did the shopping trip go?" A smirk played on his face. "Been spending _wisely_, I hope."  
"It went _very_ well." She stated.  
"What about the dress search for Bex?" He was well aware of the problems Bex had with clothes – because of how petite she was, anything and everything was quite big for her. He would've hated for them to come back empty-handed for _her_.  
"All sorted."  
He shifted over so Karen could sit down next to him and nestle up against him. "No problems at all?"  
She shook her head. "Picked out one dress – right colour and everything. Fit her _perfectly_."  
Chris seemed pleasantly surprised at that. "Sounds like this is all going a bit _too_ well."  
"Am I to take that as a negative comment?" She teased, running a hand up his thigh.

"Oh, no…not at all. But something's got to give. This is all running a bit too perfectly for my liking." His voice hinted a slight teasing in it.

"Maybe it's a sign."

"A good one or a bad one?" His eyes shimmered perkily, moving closer to her.  
Karen decided not to answer, and chose to stroke him more up and down his thigh. "I think we should go to bed together…take advantage of this time off that we have."  
"A-and do _what_?" Chris asked innocently, although knowing what the answer was going to be.  
A soft kiss on his lips answered his question.  
She smiled seductively, taking hold of his wrist and starting to pull him up from his sitting position. "If you want _more_…maybe you should come with me."

"Mmm…now this _is_ too nice." Karen had to admit, relaxing against the young male who was positioned behind her in the hot water. The heat had penetrated her aching muscles, almost making her feel sleepy.  
"Well, taking a hot relaxing bath – or shower – always makes you feel better after sex." Chris remarked. "Especially if the _orgasms_ you get are…_pleasurable_ enough." He accentuated "pleasurable" by gliding a finger slightly over her navel and making her shudder against him. He enjoyed teasing her like that.  
"Maybe it's because you just know how to _do_ me so well." She dimly put to him, feeling the warm glow inside her accumulate as he touched her there.

"Well, I aim to please."  
"You do _more_ than that."  
He had to admit, he felt very relaxed himself. "You know, the number of times I've done…you know…stuff like that and had a bath or a shower straight after – it's probably the best feeling ever." He sensed her relaxing against him, her back pressing into his stomach. "Almost feels like you wanna go to sleep."  
Karen mumbled something incoherent, and she nestled further into him.  
Chris peered down, noticing she'd drifted off to sleep; he smiled softly, sliding a damp bang away from her eye and taking her wine glass off her in case she accidentally dropped it on the floor. "Think someone's had a bit too much to drink." He teased softly, although knowing the _real_ reason why she'd gone to sleep.

There was something _incredibly_ sexy yet romantic about taking a hot bath together and drinking wine; he wished he'd have thought of that much sooner.  
After getting rid of the then tepid water, he carefully wrapped her up in a large towel, did so with himself, and then picked her up to get her to bed.


	113. Chapter 113

The date for Karen's hen night didn't take long to come round.

Her and Ruby sat together, whilst Janeece was helping Cesca with the drinks. Personally, Cesca thought Janeece wanted a bit of girly gossip as usual.  
"So how do you feel about the big day tomorrow?" Ruby asked the bride-to-be. "Feeling the nerves yet?"  
Karen shrugged. "To be honest…not really."  
She smiled a little. "You two are so perfect together."  
She smiled shyly.  
"You _are_ though. Looking at you both, you've got such a unity going on between you."  
"That's what _everyone_ says."  
Ruby came closer to her. "I think you two are going to work out just fine."

The other two girls came back over with the drinks.  
"So…any regrets, Mrs Fisher?" Janeece smirked, winking cheekily.  
She shook her head confidently. "None whatsoever."

The next morning.  
Chris was surprised at how early he was in; he didn't want anything like a _stag night_, he just didn't want that fuss. Of course, that day wasn't going to be exactly fuss-free when a few wolf-whistles came from behind him.  
He smirked playfully, noticing Cesca and Ruby giggling amongst themselves as they gazed at him.  
"Hope you remember you've got a _wedding_ to go to later." Ruby smiled knowingly at him.  
"Not hoping I'm going to miss it, are you, Mrs Fry?" He sidled up to her, his bright eyes retaining that cheeky glimmer they often always did.  
She coyly looked away. "I wouldn't think anything of the sort."

Chris narrowed an eye in a mock-cautious way. "What would happen if I _did_?"

Ruby cast her gaze away flirtily; Cesca nudged her.  
"Come _on_, Ruby. It's no secret you _fancy_ Chris."  
"Who _doesn't_?" She put to her teasingly. "I'm pretty sure _you_ do as well."  
Chris flitted his gaze to Cesca. "Wow, ladies. Form a _queue_ if it's going to be like that."  
They both watched him disappear down the corridor.  
"So…what do you think?" Ruby asked her.  
"Well…_I_ would." Cesca couldn't help but allow her gaze to fix onto his slim figure, especially his long, slender legs.  
"I _heard_ that." Chris said halfway down before disappearing completely out of sight.

Tom came in a few minutes later. "So how do you feel, mate?"  
"A-a little nervous."  
He smiled softly. "Well, that's natural, isn't it? I bet by the time you have to be there you'll loosen up."  
"Well hopefully I'll be too busy _working_ to worry about the nerves."  
He nodded steadily. "Not a bad thought."  
"Plus, Karen's out so I have to cover for her anyway." Chris shakily sat back in the chair. "No seeing the bride on the wedding day and all that."  
Tom frowned. "So how are you going to get sorted out? You can't work here when you're supposed to be going to a _wedding_."  
"Which is why I wanna ask you to cover for me, Tom." He gazed at the larger male dimly. "I-if that's not a _problem_."  
"No. No, not at all…you're a _mate_, Chris. And how often does a mate of mine get married?"  
He smiled dimly. "Thanks for that."

Chris did _not_ want to get ready.  
He put it off for as long as he could, as the pre-wedding nerves got to him even more as time went on.  
Tom smirked knowingly. "See, I _knew_ you wouldn't have the guts to get sorted out."

"Too frightened."  
"There's something frightening about getting married, is there?" He turned his back, as the slimmer male peeled the shirt off him that he _was_ wearing and slipped a white one on. He was sure he was only changing to humour him. The second he was gone again and he would probably change back.

"What they say has been going round in my head." Chris admitted, as he replaced the black tie around his neck.  
Tom turned back round. "And what _is_ it they say that's been bothering you?"  
"That there's no going back."  
"Chris, listen to me…" He helped him with his tie. "The way you're feeling is normal. You've never been married before, this is a far stretch from a run-of-the-mill relationship. Karen _has_ and to her, this is nothing new. You're _nervous_, that's all. It'll clear once you get there."  
"W-what if it _doesn't_?"  
Tom took hold of his shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly. "Nothing bad will come out of this. If you don't want to go through with it, then you say so." He frowned. "You _do_ want to go through with it though, don't you?"  
Chris nodded slowly. "I think so."  
"Well, do you _love_ her?"  
He smiled a little. "More than _anything_."  
"Then there you go." The slightly larger male smiled. "It's _nerves_."  
"So when are you going to get there?"  
"Chris, _relax_…" He reassured him. "Everything will work out fine. Stop worrying."  
He flitted his gaze away nervously. "Just wanna make sure you guys are going to be ok here without me."  
"You know, for it to be your _wedding day_ today, you're not doing a very good job of _relaxing_." He smiled softly. "I'm sure we can cope ok."

Tom waited outside the entrance for Chris's dad to pick him up. "I'm surprised you're still in contact with him."  
"Well, he _is_ family." He supposed in a reluctant way. "Plus it was really the only way of getting up to the place without driving myself there. It was either him driving or me getting a _taxi_."  
He found that a little amusing.  
"Not the most _impressive _way of going to your own wedding, is it? Paying for your own fare to get up there."  
They both saw his dad pull up.  
Tom gave Chris a friendly hug. "Good luck, mate."  
"I've changed my mind now." His eyes glistened worryingly. "I wanna stay here."  
"But your dad's here for you now." He stated. "You can't back out of this, Chris. Not now when you've come too close."  
He shuddered a little.  
"Are things with your dad really that bad?" He asked him. "Can you not talk to him about the way you feel?"  
He didn't seem sure. "He doesn't get in touch with his emotions, Tom. He wouldn't know the _first_ thing about how I feel."  
Tom didn't know what to suggest. "Well, the actual wedding isn't for another hour. Up to that time, if you _still_ feel nervous, text me, ok? I'll come up there and stay with you until the nerves go away."  
"Not if you've got _sets_…"  
"I haven't got any if I'm to cover you, have I? It starts at twelve-forty five, lunchtime starts at twelve-fifteen." He rubbed him down comfortingly. "Try and relax for now."


	114. Chapter 114

Chris nervously waited at the front of the church, telling himself to keep looking towards the front, but the nerves kept eating away at him, telling him otherwise.

In a way, he started to develop a mindset that made him not care if Karen would turn up, which wasn't the way to go.  
"Relax…" A hand placed itself on his arm, and he swiftly turned to see Tom sitting next to him.  
He breathed a small sigh of relief. "Tom…"  
"Thought I'd give you some back-up." He smiled softly. "I know it's not easy going through pre-wedding nerves."  
Chris's shuddering had lessened a little.  
"Your dad gone now?"  
He nodded slowly. "He wasn't hanging around." He swallowed hard.  
"Don't tell me you didn't invite your own _dad_ to your wedding, mate…"  
"No, I _did_, but he didn't wanna stay for it."  
Tom rubbed him softly up and down his back. "This'll all work out fine. She's not due for another half an hour. Don't worry."

Bex stood in front of her mirror in her room; she couldn't help but admire her reflection, but in part wished it was _her_ Chris was marrying and not her _mum_.  
She twirled a few long blonde strands of hair around her fingers, in an attempt to stop the curls from working themselves out. She _always_ had that problem, but only because her hair was just too fine.

"Everything ok in there, Bex?" Karen's voice came from outside her bedroom door.  
"Y-yeah…fine."  
"Well, come on then. _We're_ all ready. We're waiting for _you_."  
Bex diffidently came out of her room, half-pleasantly surprised to see her mum in her dress.  
It wasn't short, but at the same time the bottom wasn't dragging along the floor like some of them did. It was a normal white one, but was strapless and showed her curves in all the right places.  
She almost felt _jealous_.  
"You look nice, love." Karen remarked softly.  
"S-so do _you_, mum…you look like a princess." Bex breathed.  
"I _feel_ like one." She admitted.

Chris felt himself shake all over as the time came up to twelve-forty five; he didn't want to look behind him where the entrance to the church was, for fear of seeing what he really _shouldn't _see.  
Tom placed a hand on his shoulder. "Looks like your bride's arrived."  
Everyone got up, and Tom pulled Chris up. He felt _too_ overcome with nerves.  
"You can _do_ this, mate." He whispered to the younger male, as Karen approached the front where they were. "If you love her enough, you would do this."  
He nodded slowly.  
Her eyes fixed onto his, noticing how nervous he was.  
Tom literally walked Chris over to where he should go, pushed him into position after minor resistance, and went back to his place.  
"Are you feeling ok?" Karen asked him softly, placing a hand on his.

"I-I think so."

"Do you not want to do this?" She really didn't want him to say that he didn't.  
"It's just _nerves_." He admitted.  
She smiled reassuringly, allaying some of his anxiety. "Well, try to relax…"  
"O-ok." He swallowed hard, before looking back at her. "You got here ok then?"  
"Yeah. A few teething problems here and there, but nothing serious."  
"Hope it's nothing to do with that _dress_ you happen to be wearing." Chris's perkiness came back in no time. "I paid good money for _that_."

After both had said their vows, both of them wasted little time in kissing each other; Chris snaked his arms around Karen's waist, while she wrapped her arms around his neck as their lips hotly connected, withdrew, and then connected again.

"S-so what now?" She asked him breathlessly as they pulled away for air.

"You wanna go outside for a bit?" He asked her faintly, still trying to get over that passionate kiss they both shared.

Both of them remained together, finding it hard to keep their hands off each other; hands wandered all over each other's bodies, and their kissing grew more passionate and heated.  
For a couple that had spent so much time being together and engaging in naughty things before marriage, it was odd to see them still so connected with each other.  
It was almost as though the marriage had given them a new lease of life.  
"So you have any regrets about this, Mrs Mead?" Chris teased.  
Karen shook her head swiftly. "None whatsoever."  
He wanted to take her away from prying eyes, wanting to have as much privacy between them as they could. His hands moved themselves to her hips, caressing the curves of them through the dress. "I don't regret marrying my own _boss_."  
She closed her eyes, feeling his lips softly brush against hers. "I don't regret marrying my own _deputy_."  
"So now we feel the same way about each other, there'd be nothing wrong with it as far as the board's concerned." He softly stroked an index finger under her jaw, drawing the unbelievably soft skin upwards in order to get her to look up into his bright blue eyes.  
Karen felt her breath get taken away as hers and Chris's mouths connected hungrily, knowing where each other were through their own perceptions.  
He was _enjoying_ the passionate contact between them both; it was fiery but naughty at the same time. He had her all to himself and no one was going to stop that!  
He pulled her up against his body, whimpering incoherently when she raked her fingers through his dark bangs.  
She pressed one hand into his back, pushing him flush against her as their tongues delved into each other's mouths.  
"Y-you look so beautiful like that." Chris gasped out as they withdrew for air; he noticed how the slight breeze allowed Karen's bangs to flutter gracefully, and it had surprised him how shiny it was, almost like silk. "A-all this kissing is going to make me wanna do naughty things to you, Karen…"  
"Me too." She shakily admitted, feeling herself get blown away as he lightly stroked her through a few blonde strands and watching the way they fluttered in the breeze.  
"Well, I guess we're going to have to settle for this for now." He slid his lips either side of her lower lip, alternating between sucking and licking on it. "But maybe later if you feel up for it…"

Bex looked on from where she was, feeling a stab of jealousy hit her in her side.  
Just _why_ did she feel like that? Was she not _happy_ for them?  
She _should_ have been happy, but something told her otherwise.  
Calculatingly, she wandered off from where she could see them, disappearing out of sight.


	115. Chapter 115

Later that night.  
Karen felt so warm and protected as Chris wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to his body as they stayed with each other on the floor. "Not a bad thought of yours, to be honest." She mumbled dimly, feeling his index finger draw circles on her back.  
Chris loved the sensation of her amazingly soft skin; the dress she wore was backless and so it gave him an excuse to touch her the way he was without it being overtly sexual.

Of course later, they'd probably go about trying such things, but not when there were people around them.  
"At least we're putting the assembly hall to good use." He teased, taking a few seconds to simply stop and gaze at her in the darkness, if not for the bright lights that been put up. "And it's _free_, of course."  
Karen smiled softly, as the young male carefully cupped her face with one hand and skimmed her cheek with his thumb.  
"You look so amazing tonight." Chris commented, his voice faint with amazement, if not hinting slight pleasure. "It makes me feel like I don't _deserve_ you, Karen."

"But you _do_, Chris." She placed her hands on his hips, their bodies melting into each other. "You don't realise how much I need you…how much I _want_ you."  
Their lips shakily connected, excitement clearly there between them.  
"A-after this…mine or yours?" Chris asked her.

"Let's go back to _mine_." She gazed at him seductively. "It's closer."  
He smirked flirtily. "That's not the _only_ reason, is it?"

Karen drew her thumb over and along his lower lip, causing it to tingle with pleasure from the touch. "I think you should _wait_ till we get there."  
They positioned themselves by the window, both having enough of being in a place where everyone could see them.  
"I'll need to get myself sorted out – but when I come back, we'll tell everyone to start thinking about going…it's getting pretty late." She explained to him.

Chris hovered by the window by himself, not knowing that Bex was lurking about behind him.  
"She hasn't abandoned you already, has she?" She put to him steadily, her eyes fixing themselves on his.

"Bex…you _scared_ me." He noted, relieved. His relief was cut short when he noticed a familiar sparkle coming from around her neck.

"You hadn't forgotten you actually gave me this, then." She assumed, running her thumb over it to get more sparkle out of it. "Pity _mum_ knows nothing about this."

"Actually, she _does_." He turned more to face her. "She's known about it for a while."

Bex sidled up to Chris, her hands on his hips. "Is this what you want, though, Chris? To be legally bound to someone?"  
"_Kind of_." He didn't like the contact and moved slightly away. "I wasn't going to marry _you_, was I?"

She felt that sting slightly. "Why not?"

"Because." He was glad to see Karen hadn't come back yet to see the unwanted contact she was creating. "I don't _love_ you. Not like that."

"You told me that you _did_."  
"Yeah, well, I was _wrong_. I _don't _love you." Chris noticed she was coming back. "I've got a _wife _now, Bex."  
Bex shook her head. She didn't want to accept this. She felt like it was _injustice_. "You can't do this to me."  
"I _have_ to." He went to go over to her. "I'm sorry."

"Everything ok?" Karen asked Chris, as the last few people were making tracks to go as it'd gotten late.

"Of course." He smiled softly. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"Just that you and Bex seemed to be arguing."  
"Oh. Just a small disagreement about something. It'll blow over." Chris played down.

She smiled, reassured. "Things like that between you two are almost perfect, Chris. I'm sure you're right about that."

Once everything was turned off and everywhere was locked up, they smooched a little shyly before he drove them both back to hers.  
"So…what's on the cards? Striptease up to the bedroom or shall we get straight to it?" He turned to Karen, his bright blue eyes shimmering naughtily.  
She slid her index finger up his thigh. "I think we should take this very slowly…"

Hot shocks travelled up Chris's spine as the touch moved up his thigh to his hip.  
"So we can make it all as _pleasurable _and _stimulating_ as we can." She could tell he got a little excited when his cheeks flushed a little red and a soft gasp dragged itself out from his throat. "It's not something we should _rush_, is it?"

Chris was quickly turning into one of those who didn't _want_ to wait; he brought her up against the wall, his hips sliding down onto hers as he struggled to unzip her dress from the back.  
Karen helped him out a little by unzipping it partway so he didn't feel completely left out; he undid it the rest of the way down, feeling the slightly cool air on her flesh. "Something tells me you couldn't wait."  
He said nothing, but admired the way the dress slid down her legs and landed in an attractive mess on the floor.  
She half-expected the young male to get right in there and touch any exposed area of flesh, but he didn't. He cast his gaze over her appreciatively before softly cupping her face.

"I think you should know me better than that by now." Chris stated, intuitively knowing what she was thinking.  
Karen closed her eyes as their lips met, and she hastily started to strip him. She eventually managed to get him completely naked, and he slid his hips against hers again, both bodies connecting and melting as one.  
"I think you and I should take this _upstairs_…" He gasped out, as her hands placed themselves on his hips. There was something _incredibly_ sexual about the whole thing.  
She nodded dimly.

"A-as you said, it's not something we should rush."  
She hazily gazed up at him, cupping his face with one hand and stroking the soft, warm skin with her thumb.  
Chris planted a kiss on the top of her head and nuzzled his nose in amongst her blonde hair, taking in its fresh scent. He closed his eyes, as the scent made him come over a little sleepy. It was one he _liked_.  
Karen simply held him there against her, sliding her fingers through the dark hair at the back of his head near his neck; she couldn't believe how affectionate he was being with her – her perception of any male, not necessarily _Chris_, would find the fact that he was married to her an excuse to touch her and have sex with her whenever he wanted. But Chris wasn't forcing her into _anything_. Ok, they were both _naked_ and pressed up against each other, but he wasn't _violating_ her. He was actually _embracing _her – admiring her in an intimate way yet not taking advantage of it.  
He _was_ certainly different.  
"If you _wanna_ do this." He identified her silence as a way of either saying no or she was unsure. "If you're not sure…"  
Karen smiled softly, pressing a finger to his lips in order to cut him off. "I'm _sure_."

"Then why the silence?"  
She noticed the dim light catching the darker blues in his eyes; it was something she found quite breathtaking. "I'm just glad I have someone like you now." 


	116. Chapter 116

Karen felt like drifting off in bed; she was half on, half off of Chris with her back pressed against his stomach. He dimly drew imaginary circles along her tummy area under her navel, the whole feeling causing the afterglow to intensify, if not for the soft lights in the room that were sending her to sleep.  
He delicately kissed her shoulder, as he wrapped an arm around her waist yet still carried on with the stroking.  
She hazily took hold of his hand, stopping the stroking. "I'm so glad I've got _you_."

Chris closed his eyes, nuzzling his nose in amongst her blonde hair. "I'm here to look after you."  
Karen closed her eyes, feeling her insides melting at the young male's words. "I know you are. And that's all I want _from_ you. Someone to keep me safe…someone to just hold me and tell me I'll be ok."  
"I'll do _all_ of that." He whispered to her softly, sliding his hips up against her body and wrapping his legs around hers. "I'll do that and _whatever _more you want me to."  
She was close to drifting off. "Chris, I don't want you to fuss over me…"  
Chris took in the fresh scent on her hair again. "I just wanna treat you right, Karen – treat you so much better than your _other_ husband."  
She smiled tiredly, stroking him over his wrist.  
"I love you." He slid an index finger down and against her. It was an odd sensation, almost like feeling a flower opening its petals. Dare he admitted it to himself, but it was a _beautiful_ feeling – so feminine and graceful.

"I love you too, my love." Karen closed her eyes at the feeling of his touch against her; she identified it as more affectionate than anything bad, almost as though he was stroking any remaining pain away.  
"Does this feel good?" Chris asked her, feeling her relax against him as he continued to hold her there.  
She nodded faintly. "Almost like I want to sleep."

He smiled softly. "Feel better now?"  
"A _lot_ better."  
The stroking came slower and more soothing. "Go to sleep."  
She took in a few deep breaths, finding that what he was doing was too good to stop. "Not if we need to get up soon for our flight."  
"I'd _forgotten _all about that." He noted, half-teasingly.  
Karen slid off the young male's body, and slid his dark bangs into position, as they became askew from sleep. "Well, I hope you hadn't forgotten that you _married_ me the day before."  
Chris smirked cheekily. "As if I'd do a thing like that." He softly ran his fingertips along the lengths of her blonde hair. "Don't know what you take me for sometimes."  
She buried her head in his shoulder. "You love teasing me, don't you?"  
"Only because you like it." He peered up at the ceiling, feeling warm as she stroked him up and down his broad chest. "I guess we'd better think about getting up to get ready."  
"Then what's stopping you?"

"Oh?" He flitted his gaze back to her knowingly. "_You_ can talk."  
She leant up on her arm, her eyes taking on a more worried look. "You were the one who wanted to go further out."

"And that _is_ what I want." He wanted to put what was worrying him to the back of his mind, but it was decidedly hard to do so. Eventually, he gave in. "I just hope that everyone's going to be ok at work."  
Karen frowned a little. "Something that minor is bothering you?"  
"Well, it isn't _just_ that." Chris swallowed hard.  
"Then what more is wrong, Chris?"  
He smiled softly. "I don't think we should let it destroy our time together."

They both got up, giving each other a shy yet tender morning kiss.  
"Once you've gotten your stuff together, do you wanna come over to mine so I can take us up there?"  
"Y-you're paying for the _parking_ up there?" She sounded incredulous.

"Come _on_, Karen. It's only for a _week_. It's not like we're going for a _fortnight_."  
"But still…" She didn't like the fact that he was going for the most _expensive_ option ever. "It's still _money_, isn't it?"  
He didn't like her lecturing him somewhat about how to use his money – he honestly didn't mind _how_ they both got to the airport, as long as they had a honeymoon together. In a way, it did anger him slightly. "Tell you what…I'll leave you to get your stuff together, while I do the same at _my_ place. Once you're ready, let me know so I can come back and take us both there. Does that sound fairer?"  
She nodded slowly.  
"Good."

Chris went straight to his flat, but for some reason didn't feel too good. Almost like he was anxious about something.

Unable to shake the restless feelings off, he carried on into the flat to start getting his own stuff sorted out so he and Karen could head off together.

Karen loitered around in her lounge, waiting for some sort of response from Chris to let her know he was on his way back; she had her mobile on especially, in case he tried to text her, but she was getting anxious as the time was fast approaching to almost under two hours when they should start thinking about getting up to the airport.  
Resignedly, she tried calling his mobile, knowing full well that he almost always had it on. It was on, sure enough, but he wasn't picking up.

She couldn't help but find that a little _worrying_.


	117. Chapter 117

Karen tried Chris's mobile again, realising he wasn't going to answer. The only thing she could do was to go up there and find out what was happening.

She drove up there, noticing everything seemed about normal. Chris's shiny blue Lexus had been parked up quite close to his flat, but why did she suddenly have a bad feeling eating away at her?

Chris didn't realise he'd been sitting on his bed for the past few minutes blankly staring into space. Nor did he realise that Karen had come into the room, after finding out he'd left his front door ajar.  
"_There_ you are." She stated, mildly relieved to see that he outwardly seemed ok, but something told her otherwise.  
He kept his back to her, not knowing what to say or feel; it prompted her nervousness to grow a little.

It certainly didn't help when she realised he was only halfway into packing.  
Shakily, she perched herself on the end of his bed as he had done, not too far away from him.  
"You don't want to go, do you?"  
Chris shook his head sadly, not wanting Karen to see a tear that had shimmered out of the corner of his usually bright, perky blue eyes.  
"I don't understand, Chris. You were so up for going away abroad – both of us going _together_." She took hold of his hand softly. "You spent a lot of money making this happen."

"It's only money, isn't it?" He went to get up, but she stopped him from going anywhere.  
"Something's wrong and I want to know what it is." She told him firmly. "What is it about it that's stopping you from going – that's stopping us from doing something we always _wanted_ to?"  
He swallowed hard, flitting his gaze away. "It's not that I don't wanna go, Karen."  
Karen tilted her head attentively.  
"S-something happened some time ago and I just – I don't know. I lost it, I guess."  
"Whatever happened, it'll work itself out…" She assured him. "It will if you just tell me."  
Chris lowered his head. "You're going to think I'm weak. That I'm some sort of coward."  
Her smile allayed his fears slightly. "I could _never_ think that of you. You're stronger than most people give you credit for."  
"This is all they see though, isn't it? That I haven't got it in me." He assumed weakly, drawing in a deep breath. "Maybe they're right and that this is what I am."  
Karen stroked him down his back softly. "What is it that's making you feel like this?"  
He almost gasped when she softly wiped away another stray tear.  
"Chris, you don't get upset for no reason. And it's obviously something deeply set that's made you feel so bad."  
He turned a little more to face her. "Y-you might not realise this, but I have a fear of flying."  
She smiled reassuringly. "That's ok, you're not alone. There are lots of people out there that have a fear of that." She stroked his hand softly. "That doesn't make you a _coward_ though."  
"I had a sister at one time." Chris clarified slowly. "Same age as me, we were both alike and we got on really well together. Sh-she was _very_ successful at her age and she took trips all over the world. That was how successful she was."  
Karen nodded slowly.  
"Anyway, she had to take a transatlantic flight…but she never made it." His voice sounded a little shaky and her stroking became more soothing. "K-Karen, her plane _crashed_ in the middle of the Atlantic."  
There was silence between them, as she absorbed what he told her.  
She gazed over at the young male, as he lowered his gaze to the floor again and had gotten very quiet and still. It was obviously exhausting for him to have talked about something so traumatic as that. "Chris, I…god, I am so sorry."

He shrugged. "Life goes on, doesn't it? One of those things…"  
"Did this happen some time ago?"

"Oh. Yeah…" Chris nodded. "A _long_ time ago. This was when I was in my _first_ job. I didn't let it bother me, you know? I was more bothered about where my _job_ was going, as there were all these talks about redundancy. I guess the shock never really set in that deeply until now."  
She nodded slowly.

"It wasn't as though I didn't _care_. But I didn't wanna let the loss get to me. That was the only way I could've coped."  
"Your reaction is understandable." Karen agreed. "The shock just manifested a little later on."  
"I'm really sorry I feel like this."  
She smiled weakly. "It's not your fault, Chris." She carried on with the stroking. "We can go somewhere else, and it doesn't have to be abroad."  
"O-ok."  
"I just wish you'd have told me all this so much sooner."

Chris felt warm as she cupped his face with one hand. "I didn't want you to worry."  
"You made me worried when you wouldn't answer your mobile."  
Frowning, he looked over at his mobile. _2 missed calls_, said the front screen. "Sorry. I guess I was in too much thought to have heard."  
"That's ok." Karen placed her hands on his thighs. "But don't feel afraid to talk to me about things like that. We're a _couple_ now."  
"It'd be a _pity_ to have wasted all that money on a honeymoon we're not going to though."  
She felt like jumping up and down with excitement. "Are you saying you want to do this?"  
He nodded steadily. "I'm sure."  
"Well, I'd better help you pack then." She stated cheekily and the two of them went to get to it.


	118. Chapter 118

A week had passed.

"Oh well, back to it." Karen admitted weakly, as Chris snaked his arms around her waist as they'd gotten to his flat.  
"Sounds like someone wants some _loving_." He teased lightly, planting a kiss on the top of her head.  
She smiled flirtily as she placed herself on his bed. "Well…I'm only here."  
He had his back to her as he noticed he had a new message on his mobile. He frowned as he opened it, realising _Bex_ had left him a voicemail.  
Karen patiently waited for Chris to come back, as he dialled the number for the voicemail service.  
"C-Chris…I know you're probably in the air by now, and I didn't want to destroy things for you by saying this, but…I-I'm _pregnant_."  
He swallowed hard.  
"So when you come back, if you could…I don't know…give me a call back or see me. I just don't know what I should do about this and I'm sorry."  
He slowly switched his mobile off, looking over at Karen as she gazed over at him.  
"Care to join me, my love?"  
Chris shut the door, turning the lights down low; it wasn't exceptionally dark outside, but he wanted to give the room a more seductive, sexy dimness.  
He hastily took his t-shirt off, feeling Karen's gaze fixing itself on his flat stomach, before undoing the belt on his trousers and letting them glide down his long legs.  
She'd already stripped off in the process, surprising him a little.  
"Wow." He remarked. "You didn't waste any time in undressing."

She smiled flirtily as he slid onto the bed and straddled her legs. She cupped his face with one hand, skimming her thumb along his jaw line. "So beautiful."  
Chris gasped from her touch, his bright blue eyes softening from pleasure.  
Karen admired the way the young male's lightly tanned skin shimmered amongst the dim yet soft light; it was almost like _gold_. "I could do so many things to you."

"Then why don't you?" He whispered, taunting her. "Do whatever you like to me."

Two hours later.  
Bex heard a car pull up outside, noticing Chris had parked up; quickly, she ran down the stairs and let him in. "Thanks for getting my message."

"Is there anyone else here?" He asked her. He _hated_ the fact that he was going to potentially hide something from Karen.  
She shook her head. "Apart from Harry, but he's in his own room."  
"We should go somewhere else alone together." He suggested.

"How did you find out about this?" Chris asked Bex once he was sure there was no one else he could identify in the restaurant they were in.  
"I bought a home pregnancy kit. I only did that after I started to feel sick." She explained.

"…And when did you find this out?"  
She shook her head. "I can't remember."

He flitted his gaze to the table. "How do I know you're not making this up?"  
Bex gazed at him sadly. "You've got to trust me."

"How _can_ I fully trust you, Bex?" Chris asked her. "After what you tried to do?"  
"I told you I was fine with it when I came back from counselling." She protested.  
He shook his head slowly. "So that explains the way you behaved on our wedding night?" His comment prompted her to cast her gaze away guiltily. "What you did was _premeditated_, Bex. You could've _destroyed_ my and Karen's relationship without it even lasting for a whole day."  
"I never meant to…"  
"Which leads me on to think that you're mentally unstable." He gently told her.  
"_What_?" Her eyes widened. "Chris, I…"  
"You want _attention_." Chris assumed. "And you think the only way you can get it is to say – and do – things like this."  
"But I'm not making this pregnancy up." Bex tried to get through to him. "I wouldn't lie to you about something like this."  
He gazed at her softly. "That didn't stop you from almost destroying things between us."  
She felt tears reach her eyes. How could he be ignoring her cries for help? Did he really not trust her that much? "How can you _say_ things like this?"  
He slowly placed a hand on her wrist, stroking her there comfortingly. "I'll take you back to the mental hospital…we can go there in a few minutes, and I'll stay with you till they get you settled."  
Bex shuddered from shock. She'd hoped that Chris, of all people, would've _understood_. He was the one person she felt she could talk to about things like that, and he was dismissing what she was saying as if it was some carefully thought out lie! "I thought you understood me…"  
He said nothing, but got his jacket back on; he got his keys out, ready to take her.

Bex was taken to her bed, and the nurse folded the blankets over her to keep her warm.  
"She seems to be settling in ok." She told Chris, as he leant against the room's doorway.  
He nodded steadily as Bex cautiously flitted her gaze to him, and he came into the room, sitting down on the bed not so far away from her. "They're going to start giving you something to help you sleep, so I won't be able to stay with you for very long after that."

She said nothing but looked away; she jumped when he placed a hand on hers.  
"You're _safe_ now, Bex." Chris softly stroked her through her long blonde hair.  
"So are you happy now?"  
He didn't know what she was on about. "Happy…?"  
"Taking me here so I'm out of the way?"

"Bex…I didn't take you here to get rid of you. I took you here so you can get help." He put to her loosely.  
"You didn't even _believe_ me when I told you I was pregnant."  
Chris watched the nurse feed in a small syringe full of clear fluids into her wrist. "You're just hallucinating, that's all. Trauma does do things like that. You're not thinking straight, but you're somewhere you'll be able to."  
"Y-you're not listening to me, Chris…why won't you listen to me? Why won't you accept what's happened?" Bex weakly protested, feeling the drowsiness catch up with her.  
"Because I know it isn't real." He swept a hand over her forehead, in order to calm her and make her give in to the sedation. "The thoughts you have will stop…"  
"I-I don't want them to stop…" She dimly mumbled, struggling to resist the heavy feelings the drugs were creating within her. "I want you to _believe_ me."  
Chris simply held her there, feeling her squirm a little from the fear of not knowing what was happening to her. He slid his fingers through her hair as her eyes softly closed, her body giving in to the medication as she fell into a very deep sleep.


	119. Chapter 119

Chris and Karen shyly shared a small kiss after their little bit of fun before they decided to go to sleep.  
"Mmm…now that was good." She remarked, feeling even more relaxed as she felt him twirl his fingers in her hair.  
"Now do you think it feels better now that we're married or just the same?" He asked her teasingly.  
She found his question amusing.  
"What's so funny?"  
"I just found it funny when you omitted to ask me if it _doesn't_ feel as good now that we're married." Karen smirked as he pulled her closer into an embrace.  
Chris shakily got up, not realising his whole body was shuddering all over from how good the sex between them was.  
"C-Chris?" Frowning, she leant up on her arm, looking over at the young male, as he perched himself on the edge of the bed with his back to her.  
He dimly got up and disappeared out of the room, leaving Karen unaware of where he was going and if he was coming back.

She followed him out of the bedroom, noticing he'd perched on the sofa. "Chris, what's wrong?"  
Chris leant further forward, not wanting to answer Karen's anxious-sounding question.  
She bent down beside him, placing her hands on his thighs. "Remember what I said, yeah?"  
He shook his head, shivering a little.

She grew worried at his change in disposition. Unless the sex really felt that good and it had left him _speechless_.  
"S-sorry." He managed to say.  
Karen smiled reassuringly. "Don't say sorry, you doughnut. Let's go back to bed and get some sleep."

They got back into bed together, and Chris kept his gaze firmly on the window he was facing. Why did he suddenly feel even guiltier?  
Karen could tell something was wrong. "Chris…" She felt him shudder as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Come on. Let's cuddle up together."  
He flipped himself onto his other side, their bodies pressing up against each other and their arms wrapping around each other protectively. He softly closed his eyes as he felt her stroke him up and down his back.  
"You're awfully tense all of a sudden." She stated. "Try and relax…go to sleep."  
Chris refused to give in to the soothing effects of her touch; the muscles in his body had gotten sore from exhaustion and he was trying so, so hard to keep his eyes open. How could he sleep, let alone _relax_, when he felt as bad as he did?  
Karen cupped his face with a hand and softly kissed him on his cheek. "It's all the excitement of the wedding and it's now after the honeymoon…it'll pass."

"I don't wanna sleep."  
"Yes, you do. You're just overtired." She stroked him through his bangs softly. "We can't have you awake like this, can we?"  
Chris succumbed to the touch, drifting off nice and slowly in her embrace; his eyes delicately closed and the stroking dulled and became fainter.  
She held him up against her as he fell into a deep sleep. _Must've been the flight back,_ she thought to herself, before going to sleep also.

Earlier in the morning.  
Bex jolted awake, her entire body feeling heavy and weighed down from tiredness; her eyes flashed open, realising it was still dark outside.  
She looked at the time – four thirty. She thought it was later than that.  
God did her head hurt.  
Shakily, she sat up, gazing out of the window; Chris would also be in bed by then, deeply asleep. She kept going over and over again in her head at what he said and the sheer, utter disbelief in his eyes when she told him she was pregnant.  
_"You want attention. And you think the only way you can get it is to say – and do – things like this."  
_Bex could unmistakably make out the disbelief in his bright blue eyes that had misted over, and she couldn't blame him for being a tiny bit doubtful of her. But for him to say she was seeking _attention_…that didn't sound right.  
Once she'd switched the bedside light on, she walked over to the window, switching her mobile on. She didn't expect Chris to text her, but she was surprised to find that he _had_ sent her a message. Some form of apology for not believing her would certainly make her feel better.

_"GUESSING YOU'RE ASLEEP NOW. HOPE U FEEL BETTER SOON. CHRIS XX"  
_

Anger blazed within Bex; he _still_ didn't believe her. What _was_ it to him anyway, some sick little joke? It sure well didn't feel like that to her!  
Furiously, she tossed her mobile back onto her bed, and struck the wall with her fist; she didn't feel the pain because of the burning rage she was experiencing. "_Why_ won't you _believe_ me? After everything we did…"

She was unaware of two nurses coming into the room.  
"I-I thought you _loved_ me, Chris…"  
The two nurses took hold of Bex and brought her back onto the bed.  
"I don't want to sleep, I want to talk to him…" She weakly protested, as a needle was fed into her shoulder. "I'm _not_ making this up…I'm _not_!"  
They held her there until the medication kicked in and made her drowsy; when it did so, they put her back to bed and left her to fall asleep by herself.  
Bex shivered a little, casting her gaze back up at the window through tear-misted eyes. "I just wish you could _believe_ me…"  
_"I know it isn't real."  
_"This _is_ real…" She _knew_ something was growing inside her, she couldn't deny that. It wasn't some phantom pregnancy or a blatant attempt at making Chris take her back. "How real has it got to be to make you _see_ that?"  
Sensing the drugs take more of a hold on her perceptions, she softly closed her eyes, and fell into a deep, controlled sleep.


	120. Chapter 120

Chris handed Karen her tea in her room when they got into work that morning; he positioned himself against the low windowsill, coming over all coy when he noticed she was eying him up and down longingly. "I know what you're thinking, and no." He taunted.

She flitted her gaze away, before secretly casting it back over onto his small hips. She couldn't help but find that part of him _extremely_ attractive, especially as his trousers accentuated them along with his legs. "Don't know what you're on about." She stated innocently.  
He smirked playfully. "I know the way your mind works, Karen." He sidled up to her flirtily. "I'm not _daft_."

Karen almost gasped out in pleasure as Chris softly trailed his index finger up along the front of her neck. "You most certainly aren't."  
He enjoyed feeling her succumb to his actions, as he snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her up against him. He got even more pleasure out of it all when she placed her hands over his hips, caressing the crests of them through the fabric of his trousers.  
"If you're not careful, you're going to make me do something I'm going to _regret_."

He smirked flirtily. "O-oh. We wouldn't want _that_ now, would we?" He teasingly pulled away, aware that he was making her want him all the more.

Karen felt her muscles ache from desire at him backing off the way he did. There was something tantalising about it – he knew what he was doing to her and he wasn't going to stop.  
Chris went back to what he wanted to get on with, which was flicking through the latest exam results he'd set up for one of his sets.  
She noticed he had a pensive look in his eyes. "Something tells me you're not entirely happy."  
"Sorry?" He lifted his gaze from the paper up to her. "Oh. No, I'm fine…"  
"You sure?" She came closer. "Something you're reading seems to be fazing you."  
He shakily put the papers back down on her desk. "Everything's ok. Just thinking, that's all."  
Karen smiled softly. "You've been doing a lot of that." She flitted her gaze to the papers he'd dropped on top of the desk, seemingly knowing straight away what it was he was looking at. "I don't think there's _anything_ I can fault you on, Chris."  
Chris smiled to himself. "Is that all I'm _ever_ going to be though?" He looked away steadily. "Someone who's _perfect_ at everything?"  
She placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're a good teacher. Dare I _say_ it, but I think you're the best one I _have_."  
"And being married to you has nothing to do with that, I'm sure."  
"Well, that's a bonus – on top of making love to you…" She put to him seductively. "But you're _everything_ a teacher _and_ a deputy head should be."  
He felt her squeeze his shoulder in a relaxing sort of way. "Ok, enough flirting." He retrieved the papers that he'd furtively tried to keep from her, and got ready to leave her to own devices. "I'll catch up with you later."  
"What for, an extended tea break?" Karen teased lightly.

Chris said nothing, but winked at her cheekily before leaving her to herself.

Chris perched himself behind his desk, going over the exam results paper again; his gaze fell onto Bex's result, unable to get over how she could've gotten the result she had.  
His disbelief was cut short when his mobile vibrated not far from where he was; he answered, his attentions divided between the call and the paper.  
He jumped up a little after realising who it was that happened to call him. "W-what's happened?" He swallowed hard.

He put the papers he was reading to one side. "A-and she's had this for _how_ long?"

Chris sped up to the mental hospital, thankful he didn't have any sets that would've overrun by then; he got into the reception area, and was immediately taken to the obstetric department of the building.

Bex was sitting up on a bed, not wanting to look directly at him as he slowly came in and perched himself against the window. She simply looked the other way.  
"Bex, I…" He started. "I don't know what you want me to say."  
She shifted about on the bed, as the midwife came in, placed some gel on her stomach and ran the small handheld wand over it.  
"Looks like you've got a pretty much healthy baby in there." The midwife assured her.  
Chris couldn't bring himself to even look at the monitor, as the small blob in the black background squirmed around a little. He felt sick with guilt at not believing Bex when she wanted him to.  
"_This_ is what you didn't believe I _had_." Bex put to him icily, sensing he felt bad enough as he did already. "How could you think I was _lying_ about something like this?"  
He shook his head slowly, not wanting to look directly at her _or_ at the baby.  
"_Say_ something, Chris." She pressed him, demanding a form of apology or admission of guilt.  
Unable to form a sentence of _any_ sort, he walked out of the small room, leaving Bex and the midwife together, and went back to work.

Chris could _not_ concentrate whilst he was with Karen through their tea break together; his attention was diverted that much by the whole pregnancy, that he was blocking out what she was saying to him.  
"…Have you been paying attention at _all_, Christopher?" She teased.  
God did he _hate_ being called that. "No."  
Karen frowned at how distant he sounded. "What's wrong?" She came closer to him, stroking him through his bangs softly. "What you were reading earlier isn't still playing on your mind, is it?"  
He shook his head slowly.  
"Come on, Chris…we're a _couple_ now." She took his hands with hers, gazing into his bright blue eyes, which had misted over with what appeared to be shock. "You can tell me _anything_…anything you want, my love."  
Chris hazily looked at the time. Five minutes to go till break was well and truly over. He just felt like disappearing – hiding himself away in his room and staying there till the guilty feelings would stop eating away at him the way they were. "I-I have to go."  
Karen was shocked at what he said. He didn't want to…_stay_ with her? "But it's not even the end of break yet." She smiled softly, trying to disperse the anxiety that seemed to have taken hold of him. "Loosen up a little. I've never seen you so tense before…"  
He pulled himself away sharply, already making his mind up about leaving.

"Chris…"  
But he didn't listen to her and disappeared out of the room.


	121. Chapter 121

Karen wasn't going to let the situation with Chris carry on the way it was; she followed him, realising he'd already made tracks to go back down to his room. _He is fast_, she thought to herself.  
She managed to catch up with him just before he did. "Chris Mead, stop right there."  
That time, he actually _did_ stop; he shook a little as she came right up to him, grabbed him by his arm and brought him up against the wall.  
"_What_ is the meaning of this behaviour?"  
He didn't look straight at her, and she tightened her grip on his arm.  
"Chris, I don't understand what's gotten into you lately." Karen told him softly. "You're not yourself."  
"There's nothing wrong with me."  
"Well, I think there is. You seem to be tense, you're not paying attention to a word I'm saying and you didn't even want to spend all of break with me." Her eyes softened a little. "And you're not telling me what's wrong."  
"I just didn't wanna spend all of break with you." Chris folded his arms across his chest. "I don't see the problem."  
"We're a couple. We're only a week or so into this marriage, and if you're already getting sick of being in the same room as me, then that's not a good sign for either of us – is it?"  
He said nothing.

"_Is _it?" Karen pulled on his arm, as if to get him to snap back into reality yet again.  
"No." He sharply retorted, hating the way he was being talked to. Just because they were a couple, didn't mean that they should be treating each other any differently.

She noticed a few sets had finished, and she pulled him round a corner so the pair of them were alone together.  
Chris had still kept on with his defiant attitude.

"Is it something I've done?" She wanted to know, but was relieved when he shook his head dimly.  
"It's something _I've_ done." He noted slowly.  
"Well, whatever it is…" She took hold of his hands, stroking him at his wrists comfortingly. "We can sort something out and make it better."  
"I don't know how we _can_, Karen."

Karen got more worried. "Y-you haven't fallen out of love with me…have you?"  
"No, I could never do that…"  
"Please tell me…" She pressed him softly. "However much it's going to hurt you."  
Chris shakily drew in a deep breath. "It's too painful for me to talk about."  
"Ssh…" She ran her index finger up and down the front of his neck softly. "You can tell me, it's ok. I love you."  
"H-how badly do you want a baby?" He asked her tangentially.  
She shook her head. "What has that got to do with anything?"  
"Please just answer my question."  
She had to think. "Well…I guess it's nice to have something we created between _ourselves_, of course. That would strengthen our relationship even more."  
He nodded slowly. That was what he thought.  
"Chris…" Karen cupped his face softly. "The miscarriage I suffered was not your fault. There was nothing you could've done to have made it any better."  
"It's not the miscarriage that's got me worried, Karen." Chris admitted. "B-Bex is pregnant."  
Her eyes widened a little. "Really? H-how far gone is she?"  
"A few weeks…maybe a month. I can't be that specific." He explained vaguely.  
"But that's _good_ news." She smiled softly. "Why are you making it out to be something _bad_?"  
"It's because _I_ made her pregnant."

Both of them went back to Karen's room, where she poured Chris out some water.  
He took it from her thankfully; so many thoughts were swimming around in his head that he didn't know what to feel _or_ think. "Y-you can understand why I didn't believe her though."  
She nodded slowly. "I can see why you doubted her, yes." She leant against her desk. "You do tend to trust people too easily, Chris…but I can't fault you for distrusting Bex for once, when she has lied to you in the past – well, she's been known to lie to _both_ of us."  
Chris nodded slowly. "Just…so much of a shock. I was convinced she'd been making it all up."  
Karen placed herself next to him and rubbed him down his back. "Don't pin this all on yourself."  
"I feel like I _have_ to." He protested. "God only knows what sort of state the baby is in now, Karen. What if I've made it sick by not believing Bex in the first place?" He knew the implications of giving drugs to pregnant women, especially when it came to _sedative _drugs. He felt like he only had _himself_ to blame if the baby ended up brain damaged or deformed.  
"You're being too hard on yourself, Chris." She soothed, feeling him shudder a little. It wasn't his entire fault, but it was only a matter of time before his extreme trust in people got pushed too far. How else could she make him feel any better? "Tell you what…why don't you and I go out somewhere?"  
"And go _where_?" Chris really only felt like _sleeping_. Maybe going to sleep and never waking up again would be more suited to him than a night out anywhere.

"Anywhere you want."  
"I just feel like sleeping." He admitted.  
Karen smiled softly. "Not coming over all _miserable_, are you?" She taunted, rubbing him down his back some more. "Lighten up."  
He was silent for a few seconds. "Bex didn't even wanna talk to me."

"Then why did you go to see her?"  
He shook his head. "I-I don't know. I felt like I had an _obligation_ to. Especially if I fathered that baby…"  
She nodded softly. "You felt you had a duty of care to it, and that's fine. It shows her that you're trying to be responsible."  
"That's not what came across when I was _there_."  
"Bex will come round in her own time. She's probably just as shocked as _you_ are about the pregnancy." Karen explained. "For now, all you can do is _give_ her that time to do so." 


	122. Chapter 122

Bex was taken back to the room she was kept in, and the nurse there carefully folded the blankets back over her to let her rest.  
"Is there anyone you want to talk to about your pregnancy, Bex? Any family?"  
She shook her head dimly.

The nurse sat next to her. "I know you're still at an age where pregnancy is a bit early to start thinking about, but having a baby is _exciting_."  
She shrugged.  
"What about your mum?"  
Bex shakily wiped a tear away from her eye. She wished that Chris had stayed with her so they could at least have _some_ form of a bond between them – they had something that would _connect_ them together, but it was almost as though he wanted no part of it. "I think I need to be alone."  
"That's fine, sweetheart, that's fine." The nurse rubbed her down her back, as the last of the relaxant was given to her. "Get some sleep…you've got an _extra_ one to look after now."  
She drowsily rolled onto her side, checking her mobile for any unread messages. There wasn't even one, not that she was expecting Chris to contact her in any way, not since he left the way he did.

Bex didn't exactly know what to feel with him anymore. She loved him, sure. But he was behaving strangely, almost trying to avoid her.

Later that night.

Chris and Karen went out together, but they didn't go that far; for one thing, he really did not feel like driving anywhere far away. Another thing was that the shock of the pregnancy was still affecting him, although not that much so.  
"Didn't feel like pushing the boat out then?" Karen put to him subtly.

He didn't know what she meant. He was almost completely devoid of any humour.  
"You didn't want anything alcoholic." She flitted her gaze to the water. She was taken aback at his loss of perkiness. It wasn't like him to go for something like that.

"Don't feel like it." Chris felt too depressed to drink _anything_ alcoholic. Plus, it would only send him further into a depression if he did so. He kept very still and quiet, almost giving her the impression that he'd come over traumatised.  
"What's on your mind?" Karen figured that the conversation between them was going to remain very staid. But she knew enough to know he was very deep in thought, hence his extreme quietness.

"Just the whole pregnancy." He admitted.  
"What about it is bothering you?" She came closer to him, trying to distract his gaze from the table.  
Chris slowly looked at her but then quickly looked away again. Eye contact was something he didn't want to maintain right then. "Just the fact that I didn't believe Bex when she wanted me to."  
"Chris…" Karen stroked his hand softly. "Don't kick yourself for that."  
"I mean what if she didn't even _wanna_ have it?" He looked to her _that_ time. "What then?"  
She shrugged. "I-I don't know. She would have to get it adopted, I guess."  
"That baby belongs to _me_ as much it does to _her_, Karen."  
"I don't know what you're getting at." She knew enough to know that his thoughts were very much all over the place. He was caught up between feeling _hurt_ and _confused_, and he didn't know how to stop it. "You're not thinking straight. Once we've finished, we should both go home…I'll take us back and we can go to bed."  
"I don't _wanna_ go to bed." Chris sharply got up, astonishing a few people behind him as he unwittingly knocked the chair he was sitting on against someone else's. "I don't wanna rest or relax _either_. Nothing's going to make this better, Karen."  
Karen watched him sharply get his jacket on, and make to storm out of the bar; she hurriedly got her own jacket on and chased him outside.  
She didn't realise it had started to rain a little. "Chris, wait."  
Chris almost made it seem like he didn't hear her, and simply carried on; anger burned through him as she caught up to him, grabbed him by his arm and pulled him into an alleyway, which was a little sheltered from the rain that had teemed down even more by that time.

"Chris, this anger that you have…has got to stop." She told him. "This is unlike you."  
"Good. Get used to it." He lost his patience a little more when she jerked him back against the wall.  
"No, it _isn't _good. You're not the same person anymore. This person you've become is _not_ the person I love." Karen's voice shook a little. "I want you the way you were."  
"How _can_ I do that?" Chris cried out, his Mancunian accent lifting itself from the distress he was going through. "This isn't something that can be solved with a _quick fix_. This is a mistake I have to _live_ with."  
She noticed him breaking down right in front of her and it was tearing her to pieces at the state he was in; he always seemed so protecting – inwardly so, but still protecting. But his defences were breaking down quicker than he could recover them again. "Chris, I…"  
"I _hate_ myself." He stated heartbreakingly.  
"Don't feel that way…" Karen held him against the wall, their bodies up against each other as the rain had made them both sopping wet. "Don't hate yourself. You're a good person…"  
"How can I be a good person if I make so many _mistakes_?"  
"You married me for a start." She reassured Chris. "_That's_ not a mistake, is it?"  
"But I destroy things for other people."  
"Ssh…" She took him into an embrace, stroking him at the back of his head; the rain had made it _completely_ wet, making it almost black and shiny. "You can't think this way anymore."  
His shuddering slowed down a little as Karen rubbed him down his back through his jacket.  
She was surprised at the way he was behaving. Someone who held such strong standards as to look after her and keep her safe was finding it hard to do the same for himself. "We should get you back." She told him softly. "You're wet through." 


	123. Chapter 123

As soon as they got back to Karen's, Chris heavily dropped onto the bed, as Karen came across a towel that wasn't too far away from him; it seemed clean enough.  
She rubbed him down through his hair, smoothing it down back into position as it had come over fluffy from being rubbed dry. "You look like a little fluffy chicken like that." She teased lightly, as she flattened the last of it. "It's funny how it goes all soft when it's being dried."  
Chris smiled a little.  
"See, I knew it wouldn't take long before you feel better." Karen stroked him down his back some more.  
"I still feel bad."  
"I know." She admitted. "The hurt feelings will stop on their own. But don't ever hate yourself, Chris."  
He closed his eyes softly as she tousled his dark bangs before parting them where he always had them. There was something soothing about what she was doing.  
"Lucky for me I had a _hood_." She teased some more, admiring the shine the dim lights in the bedroom were producing.  
"Thanks for that."  
Karen smiled softly. "You're very welcome."  
"I-if you _wanted_, we could take a shower together…" Chris suggested, noticing that some of her bangs were a little damp. "Before we go to bed."  
"So now you want to go to bed with me?"

He nodded slowly.

Karen closed her eyes as Chris slowed his movements against her; his hips smoothly glided against hers up until their afterglows faded together. She leant her head against the cold tiles, happy to just let him stroke an index finger up and down her back. "I thought this was supposed to be for _your_ benefit, not _both_ of ours…" She mumbled hazily.  
"Well, I guess it's a way of saying thank you for making me see sense earlier." He admitted. "I did kind of lose it back there."  
She felt hot waves of pleasure shoot down her spine as he touched her.  
"I'm not usually an angry person, Karen."  
"I know – that was what surprised me." She gazed up at Chris, noticing his eyes had misted over from excitement. "But it wasn't enough to make me stop loving you. I can _never_ stop doing that."  
"M-me neither." He shuddered, as their bodies melted together and they kissed very tenderly. Having an orgasm in the middle of taking a hot shower felt all the _more_ explosive than taking a shower _after_ one. He closed his eyes and whimpered as Karen's index finger lightly stroked him an inch or so above his tailbone.  
"Mmm…you _do_ like that." She teased, enjoying the way he submitted himself against her; his body had relaxed against hers, as every muscle inside him burnt from arousal. "You like that _a lot_."  
Chris dimly withdrew from her embrace, and their noses brushed playfully against each other. "Wanna get out now?"  
She nodded hazily, as he softly brushed his thumbs over the crests of her hips. She could understand his sensitivity at those areas as she touched him there.  
"And then we should go to bed."

The next morning.  
Chris slowly opened his eyes, liking the way the sunlight had come in through Karen's bedroom window and shone onto him like a warm glow; he turned himself onto his back, feeling too good to get up.  
_That_ was a point. What if he was _late_?  
He sharply sat up, noticing Karen wasn't there. What if he _was_ late and she had left without him?  
"You haven't lost track of what day it is, have you?" She leant against her doorway, mildly amused at Chris's blatant confusion and panic to get ready.  
He gazed at her blankly.  
"It's _Saturday_." She smiled softly, coming in and sitting beside him. She slid her fingertips through his dark bangs as they became askew from sleep. "So you can relax now and get some more sleep."

"I didn't realise."  
"Too much worrying on _your_ part, I think." Karen moved herself away a little, as Chris settled back down in amongst the bed sheets. "I didn't know if you felt hungry at all."  
"Now that you come to mention that…"  
She smiled knowingly. "I should've known. You're _always_ hungry."

"Now _that_ was good." He allowed her to take his plate off him.  
"Well, you've gone out of your way so many times to get us takeouts…might as well start making up for it now that we're a couple." Karen winked. "Do you feel as tired as before now?"  
"Not _as_." Chris relaxed even more when she cupped his face with a hand and stroked him with her thumb. "I've got a bit of strength back now."  
"I guess now that we're _officially_ married, we should start thinking about where to live."  
"Why don't you move in with me?" He suggested, feeling slightly full inside. "I know my place _is_ small for two people, but we could make it work."  
"We _could_ but what about _this_ place?" She asked.

He thought for a few seconds. "Just re-sell it. You could get a fair bit of money for it, I'm sure."  
Karen nodded slowly. "There's just one slight problem, Chris…"  
He tilted his head attentively.

"_Charlie_ part-owns it."  
"Oh." Chris sat up against the bed's headboard. "That's a _big_ problem."  
"I know he's moved out and all, but once I explain to him that I've married _you_…what is he going to think?"  
"Knowing _him_, all sorts." He supposed. He thought long and hard. "The _truth_ is about all you _can_ explain to him. Covering the fact up that we're married and together would only _complicate_ things further."  
"I guess…" She knew he was right.  
"And what would happen if he _knew_ we _were_ lying? He isn't the sort to let something like that go, is he?"  
She shook her head faintly. "No…you're right."  
Chris heard his mobile vibrate on the bedside table; he picked it up, realising he had a new message. Not only that, but it happened to be from Bex.  
Not knowing what to expect in the message, he opened it.

_"HI CHRIS I THINK WE NEED 2 TALK ABOUT THE BABY. BEX XX"_

He swallowed hard. He _also_ knew he had to talk about matters that concerned their now finished relationship and what could be done about the baby, but he didn't want it to end up as some blood feud between both of them – maybe even potentially involving _Karen_ to some degree. He wrote back.

_"OK SOUNDS FINE. I'LL COME BY LATER AND WE CAN TALK XX"_


	124. Chapter 124

It was an uneasy first five minutes for both Chris and Bex.  
He placed himself by the window, his gaze loosely fixed on the blank yet warmly coloured beige wall in front of him.

Bex simply kept her gaze on the blankets she was covered up with, although trailing it over the pretty patterns that were knitted into them.

"How _is_ the baby getting on?" He asked after some silence.

She smiled a little. "It's doing well…hard to believe after I've been drugged so many times."  
Chris found it easier to look at her once she said that. "I had _no_ intention of making our baby sick, Bex…I'm sorry I didn't believe you."  
Bex nodded dimly. "So now you finally have the guts to apologise."  
"It hasn't been easy living with the fact that I could've _hurt_ it." He protested steadily. If they _were_ going to fight, they were at least going to have to fight _fairly_.  
"It hasn't been easy living with the fact that you didn't seem to want to have anything to do with it." She retorted.  
He shook his head slowly. "I never said I didn't want any part of it."  
"Then why _act_ that way?"  
Chris peered down at the floor, as he hovered more away from the windowsill. "You've got to accept that I'm _married_ now, Bex. I've got a _life_ with someone else. My time isn't devoted a hundred percent to _you_ anymore."  
"That doesn't mean you push me away."  
"I know. I know that now." He admitted. "I'm sorry I did that. But my mind was all over the place with the pregnancy…I couldn't think straight."  
Bex nodded steadily. "I'm sorry I didn't really take your feelings into consideration, Chris."  
"It's ok, not much harm has come out of it." He sat beside her on the bed. "You _are_ still my special girl, you know."  
She smiled shyly. "And you're still my _dad_ – well, my _favourite_ one."  
He smiled coyly back. "What was it you wanted to say about the baby anyway?"  
"I was wondering if you wanted to _adopt_ it."  
Chris didn't know what to say. "A-adopt it?" He gazed at her blankly. "But this is _our_ baby, Bex. Are you sure you wanna give that up?"  
"I'm stuck in here now, aren't I?" She stated with a shrug. "I'm not deemed responsible to take on a baby. But _you_ are."

"I'm no good with babies." He protested, not wanting to take her baby off her.  
"You did fine with _me_. And with _Jess's_ one." Bex gazed at him softly. "You're natural at looking after others, Chris…I don't think you'll have a problem."  
He felt his breath get taken away as she cupped his face gently. "But this means so much to you. To _both_ of us."  
"I know." She nodded. "Which is why I want you and mum to have this one between yourselves. It's _yours_ to have."  
Chris felt tears reach his eyes.  
"Ever since mum suffered that miscarriage…it just seemed unfair that she had to go through that – especially since you two had such a good thing going." She explained. "It's only fair if I give it to two people I _love_. People I know will love it _back_."  
"Th-this is a _huge_ thing to wanna give up." He warned her. "Are you really sure?"  
She smiled softly. "The thing is, I don't even want to deliver this in a proper delivery suite. I don't want to have people around me who barely know me…I want to do this with people I _love_ and _trust_."  
"Then what do you want?"  
"When my baby's due…" Bex started quietly. "I want _you_ to deliver it for me."  
"M-me?"  
She nodded dimly. "I feel it's only fair if my baby is brought into this world by its _father_. To maintain a _bond_ between us."  
Chris gazed at her dutifully. "If that's what you want."  
"If you can promise to me that you'll do that…"  
He placed a hand on top of hers. "I promise." 

Karen was surprised at how soon Chris had come back. "Wow. I wasn't expecting you back so soon."  
"Well…the conversation we had didn't exactly descend into complete rage." He winked cheekily. "_However_…"  
She tilted her head as he dropped himself next to her on the sofa in her lounge.

"…Bex has offered her baby to us."  
She didn't say something for quite some time.  
"…Karen?" Chris grew worried that she'd taken it all the wrong way.  
"But that baby is _hers_, Chris. It's yours _and_ hers."  
He nodded. "She's _aware_ of that. But she's said for us to look after it. Now that she's being kept in the mental hospital 24/7, they've deemed her unfit to raise a baby. I'm guessing due to her instability. But she knew how badly you took the miscarriage and she wants you to have this one."

Karen nodded dimly. "Just seems so wrong to take it away from her."  
"But it's not wrong." Chris reassured her. "Not if she's said for _us_ to take it and look after it. She wanted it to go to someone who would take very good care of it – that's why she chose _us_."  
"…How far along is she?"

"I don't know, I didn't ask." He admitted. "But she's got some way to go yet. And she wanted _me_ to deliver her baby for her – she didn't wanna go to the place where they deal with that sort of thing."  
"But that's the best place for her." She protested.  
"Karen…" He took her hands with his. "This is what _Bex_ wants. We have to _respect_ that. She trusts me and she seems to think I know what I'm doing."  
She nodded slowly.  
"When her baby is ready to come out in its own time, I'll drive up there…I'll stay with her and look after her. That's what she wants – she doesn't trust the staff up there to help her with this. She wants _me_ to help her. She _needs_ me." 


	125. Chapter 125

Chris wasn't aware of the months that had gone by.  
He was stirred awake by his mobile furiously flashing and vibrating like mad on the nightstand next to his bed, and he answered the incoming call. "'Lo?" He answered dimly, his Mancunian accent sounding rough through the exhaustion.  
His eyes widened at who was calling him, and all trace of tiredness faded away from him; he quickly jolted up into a sitting position on the edge of the bed, waking up Karen who was sleeping right next to him.

"Who was that?" She mumbled out sleepily.

"I-I've got to go to the mental hospital." Chris shoved any old t-shirt on he found lying around, as long as it looked tidy enough.  
"Why? What's happened?"  
"Bex is in labour." He explained shakily. "Reception called to say she's asking for me."  
"God…it's that time _already_?" Karen leant up on her arm, gazing over at him as he hastily did up the belt on his trousers. "I've lost track of the time…"  
"Yeah, me too." Chris admitted. "But I made a promise to her that I would help her with the delivery."

Bex struggled to cope with the contractions that were coursing their way through her; she didn't want the nurses there with her as they kept her down in bed and tried to keep her still and relaxed.  
Chris appeared in the doorway, his eyes wide with worry.  
"C-Chris…" She said, relieved. "Thank god you're here."

"I came as soon they called." He hastily took his jacket off and dropped it onto the chair by her bed. He turned to the nurses. "Has she only just gone into labour?"  
They both nodded.  
"Ok."  
Bex peered at him thankfully. "They know you're here to help me."  
They both went, leaving both of them alone, together.  
"Are you scared?" Chris wanted to know, as he closed the bedroom door so as not to wake anyone else up who may have been asleep.  
She nodded slowly. "You have no idea how scared I feel…"  
"You know I'm not here to hurt you, Bex, I'm here to make it better." He sat down next to her, sweeping her hair back away from her face. He was surprised at how much she was sweating; she was under a lot of strain.  
Bex felt her eyes get heavy at his touch; there was something paternal about the way he touched her, and it made her relax.  
Not wanting to do anything _dodgy_, Chris slipped his hand under the blankets and came to her rounded yet heavily swollen stomach. "Does it hurt?"  
"A lot." She felt better as he softly stroked her there, diffusing the deep aches of the contractions that went all the way through her spine to the front of her body. "But that feels good."  
He smiled softly, and once she'd relaxed enough, he came across a small towel and placed that under her back, near her hips. "Don't want any mess on your bed now, do we?"  
"W-will there be a lot of blood, Chris?" Bex sounded frightened.  
"I don't know, Bex…I wouldn't have thought so if it's straightforward."  
"And what if it isn't?" She asked. "What if it comes out _dead_?"  
"Ssh…" Chris stroked her gently again over her forehead. "Try and relax, ok? I know it's hard but it's the only way the baby will come out with no problems."  
"It'll _hurt_."  
"It _will_ hurt, but not for long." He reassured her. "Just relax and breathe deeply…"  
She shakily drew in a few deep breaths, feeling her ribs ache because of the pressure inside her. "I can't breathe that deeply…it hurts."  
"Just do it as deeply as you can with no pain." He took hold of her hand, interlocking his fingers with hers. "If at any time it really, really hurts, squeeze my hand, yeah?"  
She nodded dimly, squirming about under the blankets. "I can feel it coming…but I don't want to push."  
"Push when you _wanna_ push." Chris had _never_ experienced anything like what was happening in front of him; Bex was sweating like mad, trying to get her body to fight against her baby's wishes to stay inside her. She was twisting about in pain, but she calmed down when he kept the touch going over her forehead and through her hair.  
"I can't do it." Bex sat up sharply, feeling a little dizzy. "I can't."  
"Bex, you _have_ to. You can't give up now."  
"I think I need to get up…maybe walk around."  
"You _can't_ do that. Not when you have to push your baby out." Chris protested. But he didn't stop her from getting up out of bed.  
Bex didn't get very far; her dizziness got worse, and she had to use the windowsill for balance and to keep herself up. A sharp contraction hit her in her stomach and dragged itself downwards. It made her give way. "Oh no, no, no…"  
Like a shot, he got up and caught her before she dropped to the floor. "It's ok, it's ok, it's only the pain."  
"I feel so sick…" She mumbled out, feeling safer with Chris pressing himself up against her. "I don't want you to leave me…"

"I won't leave you." He helped her back into bed. "Not till you have this baby."  
Bex shook her head helplessly.  
"Don't give up." He stroked her down her back. "You've come too far to go back now, don't give in to what your baby wants you to do. It's telling you to _stop_. Don't stop."  
"I'll _hurt_ it if I don't…"  
"You _won't_ hurt it, Bex." Chris assured her. "You _will_ if you stop."  
She tightened her hold around his hand. "P-please, Chris…I want to stop. I'm getting tired…"

"You've got to keep going."  
Bex's breaths became more laboured. Her ribs felt like they were being crushed by a vice, and her heart was racing like mad. Her vision got hazy and misty and darkness  
crept over her, not wanting to let her go.  
Unable to keep fighting, she succumbed to the darkness, slipping away as the contractions relentlessly squeezed inside her.

"…Bex…?"


	126. Chapter 126

Bex tried to fight the torpid fever searing all the way through her; she squirmed in amongst the blankets, her skin building up some sort of sensitivity from the way they were rubbing against her.  
She found every single muscle in her body go heavy and numb, like she'd lost all feeling _everywhere_. She found it a little easier to breathe, her ribs not feeling as crushed as they did before.

"Bex…can you hear me?"

Bex fought the nausea that tried to crawl up her throat from her stomach. "Chris…" She whimpered out, feeling something cool yet wet press itself against her forehead. It was a sensation she was _craving _for, and she relaxed a little.  
"Try not to move, ok? Stay still for the little one…"  
She tried to open her eyes but her eyelids felt like they'd been sewn shut from how heavy they felt. "H-has it not come out yet?"  
"No, it's still pretty much in the same position as it was before you passed out." A hand placed itself on her shoulder. "I know you're tired, but you've got to keep trying to push. It's the only way you'll feel better."  
"B-but it hurts…" Bex dimly protested, struggling a little under the wet cloth that Chris had replaced against her. "It's hurting my _stomach_."  
A small twinge of pain went through her back, and she arched it slightly as if to make it stop.  
It didn't work.

Chris knew he was no expert on babies or on giving birth, but he knew enough to know what she should've been doing to deliver it. "Push down with your hips."  
She shook her head.  
"I know you're afraid of what's going to happen once you do that, but the pain will stop. You're hurting because you're not guiding it down and it's just staying there." He assured her. "You've got to work _with_ the contractions, Bex, not _against_ them."

Eventually, Bex gave in to what he was telling her to do, and she pushed down, using her hips and stomach muscles. She found that the pain had slightly subsided and she relaxed a little more in bed.  
"See, told you."

A few more minutes passed before she was soon crying out in pain.  
"You're doing really well, Bex…keep going. You haven't got far to go now." Chris told her encouragingly, as more blood began to seep out onto the towel she was lying on and started to bleed through onto the fitted bed sheet. "Keep pushing."  
Bex let out a distressed scream, as the last of the contractions subsided and the baby was quickly released onto the towel that Chris had gotten ready to wrap it up in once it had come out.

She found it easier to open her eyes, and she breathed a little heavily at first, as she tried to get her breath back; the sick feeling had vanished and the aching in her back and stomach had gone away. The only feeling she really only had was _exhaustion_.  
Chris neatly wrapped the small mass in the towel, and made to wipe off most of the fluids on it.  
"I-is it…breathing?"  
He said nothing, but positioned himself against the windowsill, peering into its closed eyes. It didn't look good for the little one.

"Chris, what's wrong with it?"  
He turned his back to Bex slightly, so he could concentrate on waiting for some sort of response. This was still all so new to him.  
He was relieved when he noticed the baby squirm a little in his hold and then cried out quite aggressively. "Looks like we've got a _healthy_ little one."  
Her eyes widened excitedly.  
"Or should I say…a healthy little _girl_?" Chris smiled softly, handing her baby over to her.  
Bex thankfully took her new girl from him, smoothing her index finger along the top of her head, which had blonde hair sparsely growing there. "Chris, I…she's gorgeous."  
"So which one of us did she get her _looks_ from?" He quipped teasingly, as he positioned himself next to her on the bed, not too far away from mother and baby although knowing both needed to bond.

She tapped his thigh playfully. "Don't be so cheeky."

"Once you feel like getting some sleep, I can always take her off you." He offered. "At least that way you'll be able to catch up on that and I can bond with her."  
"If it's not too much to ask…" Bex stopped Chris in his tracks as he made to leave them both to bond some more. "…can _I_ name her?"  
He paused, his hand resting on the door latch. "Well, it _is_ your baby, Bex. It isn't ours, is it?"  
"But I _am_ handing her to you to foster." She put to him softly. "And you _are_ her dad."  
"That's _your_ decision to make though." He stated. "Neither Karen _or_ I should have a say in it."  
"Thank you." She said breathlessly, a warm glow settling in the pit of her stomach as he leant over her and kissed her on her forehead, before leaving her to connect with her new arrival. 

Chris sat in the reception area of the mental hospital for what felt like _hours_ – although in fact he was only there for around quarter of an hour.  
The nurse came out to him. "Bex says you can see her now."  
He went back in, noticing that Bex was lying down more comfortably. "I take it they've left you alone now?"

She nodded tiredly. "Yeah, they just sorted out her umbilical cord and what was left of the placenta…"  
"Oh, the usual stuff then." Chris noticed that they'd put the little one in a cot, but she was still awake.

"Do you want to hold her?" She offered, sleepily leaning up on her arm to gaze at him more easily.  
"If that's ok…"  
"Chris, she's _yours_ as well." She smiled softly. "Don't feel like you have to ask for permission."  
He carefully took the small mass out of the crib, taking her into quite a protective embrace. "She's so little."  
Bex sat up more in bed. "Doctors said she might be a few weeks' premature due to her size and weight, but nothing really to worry about. She's formed perfectly well."

"_I'll_ say." Chris stroked her over her small eyelids, gently enough so as not to hurt her. "She's _perfect_."  
She admired the way he was holding her; it became clear to her he'd done something similar before, as he seemed so natural. There was no hesitancy coming into it at all.  
"Did you decide on a name yet?" He asked her, noticing she seemed a little restless from within his hold.  
She nodded softly. "Kirsty."  
He tilted his head a little, liking what she'd decided on. "Pretty." He gazed down into the pair of bright, blue eyes. "Pretty name for a pretty girl."  
Bex smiled softly, before feeling a small ache in her back; that prompted Chris to go over to her and make her lie back down. "I'm fine, honestly…just an ache." Although she didn't _mind_ the contact between them, however slight that was. "Leftover female hormones." She added jokingly.  
"You should still relax." He warned her, his hand placing itself on the top of her arm. "It's not every day you give birth, you know."  
She placed a hand on top of his arm. "Thank you for taking care of her for me."  
"That's ok, thanks for letting us have her."  
She nodded tiredly, the exhaustion setting in even more.

"Get some more rest." He told her softly. "You _need_ it."  
"Are you going straight back now?"  
"Well…I'll have to take her to work with me." Chris admitted. "Can't exactly leave her home alone at her age, can I?"  
Bex smiled in amusement. "Can I kiss her goodbye?"  
"Sure." He handed her to her, as she planted a soft kiss on the top of her head.

"Be good for your new mum and dad." She whispered, before handing her back to Chris.  
He slowly leant forward and gave Bex a kiss on her head. "I can always make sure you have as much contact with her as she does with us. I don't want it to get to the stage where you both lose that bond."

She nodded softly. "You're so lovely."

"Oh…that's a point. How does she feed?" A small blush started at his cheeks. "I mean I'm not going to be much use if she breastfeeds, because I…you know…"  
She giggled slightly. "She bottle feeds. Don't worry, you're safe in _that_ department."


	127. Chapter 127

Chris parked up outside the school, hearing Kirsty's cries get even worse; her cries weren't _deafening_, but they were certainly _shrill_ enough to give him a headache.  
"You certainly know how to get my attention, don't you?" He teased softly, scooping her up into an embrace, careful not to hurt her.

Karen almost jumped out of her chair when shrill cries came from outside; the door opened, and Chris partially came in. "What on _earth _is going on out there?"  
"I picked our baby up."  
"_That's_ what all the noise is about." She just wanted to go back to what she was writing.

"I'm guessing she's hungry." He assumed loosely, looking to Karen.  
"Well, I don't know why you're looking at _me_ for, Chris. I don't think I've got anything left in me after all these years…"

"No, she bottle feeds." He frowned a little at her behaviour. She wasn't acting the way a new foster mother should. Ok, Kirsty wasn't naturally _hers_, but she should still at least show _some_ form of affection for her. Right then, she was either showing very little or none at all.

"Then what's the problem?" She gazed at Chris wearily.  
"Well…nothing. I just thought you might've wanted to _see_ her…" And he slowly closed the door behind him as he tried _desperately_ to calm the screaming newborn down. "Looks like it's just you and me for now, girlie."

Chris didn't think he would've tried anything as unusual as what _he_ was doing.  
Not wanting to burden Karen with Kirsty's incessant screams and hungry sounding cries, he was almost unwittingly testing his current set's patience through a mock test they were sitting through.

He could see a few of them looking as though they'd gotten very bad migraines and he knew he couldn't just leave the current situation as it was. He quietly got up and picked her up.

"Where are you going, sir?" One of his lot asked him, noticing he was halfway to the door with her.  
"Just carry on with what you're doing. I'm not going to be long and I'll be back in five minutes." Chris told them steadily, although secretly doubtful he'd be back in _that_ amount of time.

He took Kirsty to the boys' toilets, her screams echoing off the walls; he checked to make sure she didn't need changing – to his relief, she didn't seem to, but he thought it best that he _did_ definitely make sure. She was still unhappy about something.  
"Can't have you screaming the walls down, can we?" He whispered to her, rubbing her down her back.

That seemed to do it. Well, most of it, anyway. She was still bawling away but not as much.  
At the same time, he didn't want her to go without anything in her _stomach_.

Chris was thankful he was between sets; he tilted the small bottle upwards, allowing Kirsty to suckle on it and slowly take in the warm fluid.  
He swiftly gazed up at the door, noticing Karen had come in. "Wondered what had happened to you."

"I don't know what you mean." She folded her arms across her chest.  
"You _know_ full well." He noticed her suckling had gotten less, and he knew that meant she was getting full. "I had to literally abandon my set to look after her."  
"Don't you mean to say you _went AWOL _halfway through your set?"  
Chris shook his head, turning his attentions to Kirsty's lack of suckling, knowing that she'd finished. "Don't make it sound worse than it is."  
"You abandoned your duties as a _teacher_, Chris." Karen retorted. "It was lucky you had a set of Year 11's, not a set of Year 8's at the time."  
He jolted a little when she slammed the door shut behind her as she left. He frowned a little. She must've been _blind_ not to see that he was feeding a baby – _their_ baby right in front of her.  
He followed her outside. "And what's that supposed to mean?"  
Karen briskly turned round to face him. "It means that you were prepared to let your set _run riot _while you had disappeared."  
"I did _not_ disappear." Chris aggressively protested, careful not to raise his voice in Kirsty's presence. "And don't you _dare_ question how I teach my _classes_ or how they conduct themselves."  
She jumped from his protectiveness.

"You have no _right_ to say that."  
Karen gazed at him icily. "But I have every right to question your _responsibility_." She noticed he didn't change his expression. "And from what I've seen so far from you today has been _very_ disappointing."  
"Is this because we're both married to each other, is that it?" Chris heard a few unhappy snivels coming from their little one. "Or has fostering a baby together got absolutely nothing to do with it?"  
She seemed to block the baby-fostering notion out of her head. "You owe me an explanation as to why you abandoned your Year 11 set halfway through, Chris. And once you've given me an adequate explanation, we'll say no more about it."  
He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I don't believe you, Karen."  
"So you're refusing to give me an explanation?"  
He nodded slowly.  
"Ok, well…no explanation – no leniency." Karen swiftly went back down the corridor.  
"What now then?" He asked her halfway down the corridor.

Karen stopped in her tracks, pausing. "I'll think of something."

Later that night.

Chris spent all of that night on his own in the flat, giving Kirsty small feeds and making sure she sleeps enough; Karen hadn't come home at all, and the time was coming up to eight.

As they had nothing in the way of a _crib_ as of yet, he decided to let her sleep with him – he was worried he would crush her or maybe even push her out of the bed, but he trusted himself enough to keep a watchful eye on her and hold her close to him.  
"Hope your mum comes home soon." He whispered softly to her, as they both drifted off to sleep together.

They were both jolted awake from the flat's door closing; Chris automatically sat up in bed, whilst Kirsty whimpered a little.  
"Ssh…it's ok…it's ok." He took her into his arms and rubbed her down her back softly, as the bedroom door opened.  
Karen's figure stood in the doorway.  
"Karen…" He got up, going over to her. "Do you know what time it is?"  
She nodded wearily. "I feel exhausted."

"I don't know if you feel up for eating anything…" Chris started, as her voice stopped him in his tracks.

"But you seemed to cope pretty well without me being here."

"Because I've spent all night looking after our _baby_. She _is_ under a day old, you know." He retorted. "That was why I "_abandoned_" my set earlier, I had to see to her."  
"Well if you like doing that so much, why don't you _leave_?"  
"Leave what?"  
"Your _job_." Her eyes turned icy and hard. "Go and do something you actually have a passion for."  
Chris was silent for a few minutes, as he rubbed Kirsty up and down her back to ease her whimpering. _Poor girl's worn out_, he thought to himself.  
Once she'd settled enough, he put her to bed, but moved the bed sheets away from her enough so she didn't suffocate or get hot. "I thought I _understood_ you."  
Karen didn't know what he was on about.

"I thought that when we got married, it'd be so simple – you know, us being a couple, having a little one between us…" His eyes flitted over to Kirsty, as she lay asleep in amongst the bedclothes. "I know she isn't ours properly, but Bex offered her to us."

"What, a _hand-me-down_?"  
Chris was shocked at what she'd said. "How can you talk about her like that?" He came closer to her. "I thought we were both going to _love_ her – keep her safe and look after her as if she _was_ ours. And you go and talk about her like that?"  
"I thought us being married meant us devoting time to just each other…"  
"I can't believe how inconsiderate you sound." He admitted. "I've done more – a _lot_ more – for her than you've _ever_ done. And I'm not going to give her up."

Karen peered down dimly.

"Sounds all too familiar, doesn't it?"  
"I _never_ abandoned Bex."  
"No, you didn't." Chris held Kirsty closer to him. "But you made _her_ abandon _you_."  
She backed away from the doorway slightly.  
"And do you know _why_ that was, Karen?" He asked her protectively, coming closer to her.  
"I-I'm sorry." She shakily stated. She didn't mean it, of course, and she assumed that he _knew_ that. "I didn't mean to…"  
"Because you _lied_ to her." His eyes came over a little hard. "And that's something she's going to have to live with for as long as it takes. As for _this_ one…" He felt Kirsty relax against his chest as she fell asleep to the sound of his heartbeat. "I'm not going to do what _you_ did to Bex. I don't want that. Not for _my_ child."  
"Chris, please…" Karen placed her hand on his arm. "I'll make this up to you, I give you my word. I want to be there for her – for _both_ of you."  
Chris's eyes lost their harshness slightly. "It's going to take more than a few empty promises."  
"I won't let you down…" She squeezed his arm. "I _promise_." 


	128. Chapter 128

"How are you finding fatherly life then?" Bex asked Chris teasingly the next day, as he got her a glass of water.

"It's…_ok_, I guess." He replied loosely. "But how are _you_ getting on?" His worry for her grew when she came over a little sad. "Not missing her, are you?"  
"Maybe a little." She admitted. "Baby blues, I guess."  
"If that's what they call it." He smirked playfully, although secretly worried at the simmering tension between him and Karen.

She'd still made _little _effort in helping him with Kirsty.  
"If you're really finding it that hard to manage, why don't you get someone to baby-sit?" Bex suggested.  
"We could think about that…"  
"I mean, you guys are both working full-time and you can't exactly take her to work with you."  
Chris smirked a little at what she said. If only she knew that he actually did that. He'd heard of taking work home with you, and vice versa, but _that_ was _ridiculous_. "I don't know if I can really trust anyone I don't know to look after her."  
"Or get someone you _do_ know. Like…Mrs Fry."  
His smirk grew a little wider. He couldn't help but find that amusing. Someone like _Ruby_ baby-sitting her…

"We could try _Jess_." Karen suggested, as Chris put the idea to her during lunch break.

"_Jess_?" He said incredulously. "Are you out of your mind?"  
"Well, she _has_ experience of looking after babies. She _does_ have one herself." She put to him.

"But that doesn't mean she's any good at it." He leant against the windowsill. "We're better off going for someone _qualified_."  
"Chris…" Karen looked to him softly. "I know she's not the most trusted person in the world, but she's probably the closest we've got _to_ that. And she won't do it for a lot of money, not as much as professionals tend to charge."  
Chris felt like he was trapped there. "O-ok…" He eventually agreed.

Later that night.  
Karen perched herself on the bed, while Chris nervously loitered by the window.

"I thought she said she'd be over here dead on _7_." He stated.  
She shrugged. "Well, it's probably her first _sort of_ job, isn't it?"  
He shook his head a little. "If that's what you wanna make it out to be…" He saw her come up the road, and he nonchalantly unlocked the main door for her to get in.  
"Chris, I know you didn't want her to look after her, but I'm sure she's good with _her_ little one."

"Oh, I don't doubt that…" Chris retorted with slight sarcasm, as he unlocked the flat door for her to get in also.  
Karen frowned at the sarcasm in his voice, but made no mention of it. She simply put it down to the fact that he still felt hard done-by as Jess was picked to look after Kirsty and not someone professional, as _he_ would've wanted.

"If you've got any problems with her, just give me a call, Jess. Ok?" Chris told her steadily.  
"I'm pretty sure Jess knows what she's…"  
"I meant if Kirsty was _unwell_." He shot back at Karen.

Both of them got to the bar, but sat down in silence.  
"What do you want?" Chris eventually broke the silence between them.

Karen shrugged.  
"Ok, I'll just get the _usual_ then." He sharply got up, leaving her on her own.

No sooner had he gone, that he came back.

"There a problem?" She asked him worriedly.  
"Th-there's a problem with my _card_." He shakily put to her. "They won't accept it."

She swallowed hard. She knew why that was. "I've got some cash if you want to use that…"  
Chris hastily took the cash off her, and disappeared again.  
"You're welcome." She commented sarcastically.

"Wish I knew why it did _that_." He stated, quickly changing the subject from talking shop to the problem with his card. "I mean I've just been paid as well…I can't have absolutely nothing in my account, can I?"  
Karen gazed at him steadily. "What about the rent?"  
Chris shook his head. "That's already gone out. I don't need to pay for anything else, but we've got a little one now…and if we can't afford to _keep_ her…" His bout of depression was cut short when his mobile vibrated on the table they were sitting at. He worriedly flitted his gaze to her. "Jess is calling me." He quickly answered, moving to a more quieter area so he could hear her better. "…Say that again, Jess."  
She saw him quickly come back and get his jacket on. "What's wrong? Has something happened?"  
"It's Kirsty." He explained. "Sh-she had an accident." He couldn't think _why_.

"_What_?"  
"I don't know any more than _you_, Karen…the paramedics have been round – they rushed her to hospital." 

Chris kept an eye on Kirsty's small, immobile form, as she was kept in the small box-like container. He didn't like seeing her in there, as she was connected to so many tubes and wires that they almost swamped her tiny body.  
Karen leant forward on the chair opposite the room she was in. "Any change?"  
He shook his head. "No different."  
"If only we were there, we would've known what had happened."  
Chris turned round sharply. "_I_ know what happened, and it wasn't an unfortunate accident."  
She gazed up at him icily. "Don't you _dare_ blame Jess for this."  
"I don't blame _her_, I blame _you_ for letting her look after her." He retorted. "I knew we should've gone for someone who actually knew what they were doing – then this wouldn't be happening."  
"Are you Kirsty's parents?" The nurse asked them both as she came out of the room.

Karen went to answer, but Chris got there first.  
"_I'm_ her dad."  
"Well, she didn't sustain any significant damage when she fell, so there's nothing to worry about." She smiled softly. "You can take her once she's been given the all-clear."  
"Then what's with the wires?" He asked her anxiously.

"They're just there to monitor her." The nurse assured him. "She's absolutely fine, perfectly healthy."  
"See, Chris?" Karen pointed out. "She'll be _fine_."  
"That doesn't make it any better, Karen." He noted dimly. "Jess shouldn't have been left to look after her. A professional wouldn't let this happen."  
She flitted her gaze away as he came closer to her.

"Just so I can be clear about this – what was it that made you wanna go for Jess anyway? Not just because she's your _daughter_, is it?"  
She shook her head slowly. "N-no…I thought she'd be the cheaper option."  
"Well I can't pay her for looking after her anyway, as I have no money in my account." Chris stated. "Unless…you would care to clear this problem up for me."  
Karen peered down at the floor guiltily. "I docked your pay, Chris."  
"So when you said you wouldn't be lenient on me – you weren't _kidding_, were you?"  
She shook her head sadly.

"And you didn't realise that when you docked my pay, you left me with absolutely nothing." He cast his gaze away, his posture becoming weak and weighed down. "You know, you're making it all the more obvious that you don't wanna have a baby."  
"That's not true, Chris…" She started dimly.

"I've done _nothing_ but try to make this work." He put to her hollowly. "And all you've done is make it twice as hard."  
Karen saw him hover by the window; he wasn't intending on going anywhere till he could take Kirsty. "So now what? That's _it_ for us, is it?"  
"No, it's just situations like this, Karen." Chris's eyes shimmered protectively. "Situations that put Kirsty's life in danger – that compromises _me_ or _anyone else_."  
She didn't know what to say.  
"But docking my pay…that just tears it."  
"I just wanted to teach you a lesson…to get back at you."

"For _what_?" He cried out. "For being _honest_ with you? For trying to make you realise that you actually have a _daughter_ you should be taking care of and not just leaving it to me all the time?"  
"I'm sorry, Chris…" Karen apologised dimly. "I'm so sorry…"

Chris drew in a silent yet deep breath. "I don't know why I should wanna hear an apology from you. It's just gone too far."  
She gazed up at him tearfully.

"I don't want us to get hurt anymore." He admitted shakily. "I don't want _Kirsty_ to get hurt anymore either."


	129. Chapter 129

"What are you going to do?" Karen asked Chris, once Kirsty was given the all clear and he was allowed to take her. "You can't just push me out of her life."  
"But that's what you did to start with." He stated, holding her closer to his chest as she'd gotten tired. "You haven't made any attempt to love her…_I've_ been doing that."  
She shook her head, as he made to carry her back to his car. "I didn't mean to."  
"Well now neither of us have to worry about it anymore." Chris placed Kirsty in the back of the car, placing her in a position that ensured she wouldn't drop onto the floor or get knocked about whenever he turned. "I think our marriage should be _over_."  
Karen felt her heart sink into the pit of her stomach. "_What_?" How could he decide to do something as extreme as _that_? "You can't do that – not if we _love_ each other."  
"It isn't going to be easy, I have to admit." He put to her quietly. "But I think it'd be better for both of us if we ended it. If we're meant to be looking after her and only one of us is really doing that, then what does that tell you?"

Once both of them had got back, Chris carried the sleeping newborn to bed, carefully laying her down in amongst the bed sheets; he stripped and positioned himself next to her so he could keep her as close to him as he could without potentially hurting her.  
Karen followed suit, and she curled up in bed behind Chris, placing a hand on the side of his body. He only moved a little further away. "Come on…can't we do all those things we used to do as a couple?"

"Not when we've got a _little one_." He retorted, drawing himself closer to Kirsty and softly sweeping an index finger over her eyelashes as they flickered.

She turned over on her other side, with her back facing his. If that was the way he was going to be with her…

"You're not taking her into consideration, Karen…that's where it's going wrong."  
"I don't mean to."  
"But you _are_." Chris did turn to face her that time. "And it's got to stop."  
Karen sat up shakily.  
He did the same, scooping Kirsty into his arms. "I'll just make it easier for you." He got up, careful not to wake her.  
"Where are you going?"  
He gazed at her anxiously. "I think we should sleep separately for a bit…till we work something out."  
"Chris…"  
But he'd already gone.

Chris lied down on the floor; it was actually very soft and warm, as he'd pulled a blanket up over both him and his little one, who was still deeply asleep.

He smiled to himself, stroking her over the back of her small body. She was the only one who seemed to be _oblivious_ to what was going on between them both.

One thing was for sure – he couldn't let things carry on the way they were. Maybe not for much longer, anyway.

The next morning.  
Karen drifted back into consciousness, feeling the sun's glow on her lightly tanned skin; she rolled over onto her side, facing Chris's side of the bed, which was _vacated._  
She suddenly felt like she'd had a _bad_ night's sleep after realising he didn't sleep with her all night.

She got up, shakily looking all over the place – he'd completely _disappeared_. And had taken Kirsty _with_ him.

It wasn't a game anymore to her – the petty little spats just _had_ to stop before they split up. 

"Sorry about this." Chris handed Kirsty over to Bex as soon as he got in to the room she was kept in. "Things aren't going too well between your mum and I and I don't know if I can put up with _another_ day of looking after her at work."  
She smiled playfully. "That's fine. I understand. They're not really _that_ strict on keeping babies here anyway." She gazed into her bright blue eyes. "I'll keep her quiet till the time you come back."  
He positioned himself against the windowsill, noticing he was making her a little anxious. "Something up?"  
"Have you not got to go to work yet?" Bex assumed.  
"No…I don't have any sets till later. And anyway…" Chris sat down on the bed very close to her. "I'd rather spend my free time with _you_ than have to look at four walls up to then."  
She came over slightly coy. She was surprised that he preferred staying with _her_ than going to work, as he _should_ have done.  
"You know…I don't see our marriage really working out." He started carefully.  
"But you two have only just gotten married." She stated. "It's not going to be plain sailing to start with, Chris, everything isn't going to be in your favour all the time."  
He peered down shyly. "I know…but to start with, everything was fine. Since all this talk about adopting Kirsty and having her as our _own_ baby kind of wrecked it for us."

"You're not saying Kirsty is a _mistake_…are you?" Bex held her against her chest.  
"No!" Chris noted nervously. "No…not at all. But I just thought it'd help us bond even more."  
She heard him draw out a very quiet yet long sigh. She could sense his disillusionment.  
"I've just gone and made it worse."  
"No." She placed a hand on top of his. "No, don't think that way. We made her between ourselves. Don't give this all up."  
"I'm not giving it up, Bex." He spoke softly, worrying her slightly. Why was he talking like that? "But I'm so sure that my marriage to your mum isn't working, that I wanna put something to you. And I don't want you to think of it as me being too forward…"

Bex nodded steadily.

"I want you to move out of Rochdale with me." Chris put very bluntly to her.  
"B-but…Chris, not if you _like_ it here."  
"I _do_ like it here, but I can't carry on with the way things are. I either continue being with your mum and having to look after Kirsty all by myself, or I get with you. If you and I are together, it'll give her more of a chance to bond with either parent."  
"But why move out of this area?"  
Chris didn't seem sure. "Just to get away."  
"What if I don't want to?"  
"I-if you don't wanna do this, then that'd be it. I won't come back for you – I'll still be there for you and talk to you but I'm not going to give you another chance for us to make this work."  
Bex nodded shakily. "B-but…where would we _go_?"  
He sat closer to her. "I've put a _lot_ of money aside…I can get another teaching job, it won't be that hard for me. We can move away…far from here, far from anywhere else."  
"Well…" She noted, cupping his face. "Not such a pretty face after all then."  
He smirked coyly.  
She pulled him closer to her for a kiss, and they shared a very shy one together.  
Chris shakily withdrew, as she gazed at him amorously.

"How did that feel?"  
"O-ok, I guess." He admitted.

"So…not so good?"  
He slipped his jacket back on. "I guess as I'm still legally married, it just doesn't feel right. Not as when I kiss your _mum_."  
Bex watched him get up. "But you still want to do this, right?" She got worried that he didn't trust his feelings. But then again, it was understandable if his marriage to someone else was breaking down and he had a baby that only _he_ seemed to be looking after.  
"More than _anything_."  
"So what now?"  
"I guess the first thing is to try and cover this up. We don't want her finding out about us going away or getting rid of her. I'll end it with her in my own time…try and do it slowly so I don't…I don't know…_upset_ her. Then I'll come and get you. I don't know when that'll be, but I _will_ do it."  
She tilted her head slightly. "You're not going to throw her out onto the street?"  
Chris's eyes came over wide and anxious. "No, of course not – I'll think of something, but it's all so up in the air at the moment…"


	130. Chapter 130

Another night where Chris's sleep was _fitfully_ disturbed.  
He didn't mind going to see to Kirsty, but he was worried at how much sleep he was going to lose; he picked her up, as she was lying down next to him, and carried her out of the bedroom.

He took her over to the window, rubbing her down her back to stop or at least _lessen_ her cries; he peered out of the window, noticing Karen hadn't yet gotten back. The time was getting on for ten, and she still hadn't finished working late.  
Chris got more anxious about that. Ever since they'd taken Kirsty on, she'd been spending more and more time away from them, especially him. He was beginning to worry that she felt _he_ was responsible for making their marriage worse than it actually was, but then if he knew what'd happen after adopting her, he wouldn't have done so in the first place.

As Kirsty's cries lessened, he was sure he heard a noise coming from the bedroom; unless Karen had managed to slink in without him knowing – which was highly unlikely – he had every reason to suddenly feel like he had to be on guard.  
He frowned, coming closer to the bedroom door. "Karen, is that you?"  
No answer.  
Chris noticed that Kirsty had fallen asleep against him. He smirked to himself; for a little one who was quite young, she was easy to soothe back to sleep.  
He put her back to bed, in amongst the bed sheets, when he was certain he heard footsteps not that far away from him.

"Karen, I don't wanna play games right now." Especially when their marriage was pretty much on the rocks.

The answer to his remark was a knock to the head.

Chris found it very hard to actually perceive where he was.  
He found himself lying down, presumably in the back of a car, and it was still fairly dark outside, so no more time had elapsed throughout his coma.

He couldn't hear any noises, especially talking, coming from the front of the car, so he could only assume that it was just _one_ person and no one more.

A massive headache started to throb into his skull, and his stomach felt so tight and knotted it made him feel sick.

Feeling the exhaustion and shock overtake him, he zoned back out of consciousness.

"Chris…"  
The young male felt a shock pass through him as he dazedly opened his eyes; there was a very dim light in the room he was in, and he was actually lying on something _soft_.  
"Wakey, wakey." A pair of hard, dark eyes fixed themselves onto his bright blue ones harshly.  
Chris was sure that nausea didn't entirely escape him, and simply decided to crawl back into his throat again. "M-Max…but I thought y-you were…"  
"Thought I was…what? Oh, you mean _dead_, don't you? What _you're _about to be." The owner of the voice put to him stonily. "Too bad for you the hospital got it wrong."  
He didn't have the energy or the strength to move and could only lie there.

"Don't worry, that can soon be rearranged."  
"Y-you can't _hurt_ me." He told him defensively. "There are people out there that can find me – both of us. And then it'll be _over_."  
The larger male smiled darkly. "You don't know the full extent of your situation, do you?"

Karen gets into the flat, immediately hearing Kirsty's shrill cries coming from the bedroom.  
She frowned. Surely Chris would've been _quick_ to sort that out?  
She went into the room, finding a small mass squirming about in the bed sheets; she lifted her up into her arms, holding her there till she stopped or at least slowed down.

"Wish you knew where your daddy's gone."  
She noticed Chris had taken his mobile – well, it was _missing_. He either took it, which didn't seem right, or it was merely left _on_ him when he left and forgot to take it out.  
The latter seemed to make more sense, and she called it, managing to get through although he didn't answer.

Karen got worried. None of what was happening seemed right. And why would he go out and leave Kirsty by herself like that?

If it was some attempt at family bonding, it really wasn't working…

Chris felt shocks go all the way through him, and the sick feeling came close to emerging from his mouth; his muscles had gone rigid and painful, as he lay, curled up on the floor. What had just happened to him was _not_ pleasurable in the slightest.  
"What's going on in here?" Another familiar voice came from between them.  
Chris turned round to see Charlie standing in the room's doorway.  
"Don't do _too_ much with him." He stated. "We need him alive for now."  
The taller male nodded, and peered back down at the slightly shivering mass on the floor. "I don't think he'll move for another hour anyway. What I did to him was enough."  
The young male brought himself even more into a ball, unable to comprehend what had been done to him; he felt cold and sick, and the pure exhaustion had set in, simply making him frozen to the spot.  
"Although another go wouldn't hurt…"  
"No…" Chris unconvincingly protested, as he brought onto his back and a large weight shifted itself onto his body.  
"Do I hear a weak _protest _there?" The same dark eyes glinted harshly. "It's got to have come from _you_, Chris."  
His ribs hurt from the amount of weight on him; ok, the guy on top of him wasn't heavy as such but his weight was being distributed in the most fragile of areas.  
It didn't help his temperament when a hand was placed directly over his mouth to stifle any further disapproval. He squirmed in response.  
A kick got him in his leg and he let out a stifled squeak.  
"Tsk, tsk, Chris." The other hand placed itself on his hip, drawing the soft skin downwards. "All we ask of you is to keep nice and quiet for us."  
"Why again?" Charlie spoke out from behind him.  
"To keep him quiet – before the whole _street_ hears it."  
"But that'll make him worse." The larger male stated.  
The taller of the two got off the younger. "Well…maybe _you_ should think up a way of getting him to stay quiet – before the cops find us."  
"_What_?" He was handed a metal pole. "You can't mean that…"  
"Finish him off."  
"No." Charlie dimly protested. "Look, I know I paid you to find and get him, and maybe break a few bones for stealing my family off me…but I don't think I can _kill_ him."  
"You threatened to kill him." The taller stated.  
"It was just a figure of speech."  
"Plus, you'll get to break _more_ than a few bones this way." He moved closer to where the young male was, as he was breathing quite shallowly from exhaustion and the sheer amount of weight on him. "It'll be easy, Charlie. One or two hits and that'd be it."  
Charlie shook his head.

"Doesn't it _anger_ you that he stole your _wife_ off you?" The dark eyes flashed sinfully. "That he married her and then stole your _kids_?"  
His eyes turned a little hard.

"That he did _more_ with her than what _you_ ever did with her?"  
He nodded shakily.  
"Then _do it_."


	131. Chapter 131

Karen wasn't sure what to do; she shakily sat down on the bed, hoping that Chris was coming back, but there was no way of knowing where he was and if he _was_ coming back at all.

Not knowing anything, she quickly dialled Bex's number.

Bex drowsily picked up, shocked that her own mother was calling her so late. "What's wrong, mum?"  
"I-it's Chris."  
"Chris? What about him?" She quickly sat up. Had she managed to find out all of a sudden? Somehow she thought her mother had managed to _twig_ about the plans the two of them were making, but then thought again. Unless Chris had decided to tell her, there was just no way.  
"He's missing."  
"B-but mum…it's half past ten…Wherever he's gone, he wouldn't have gone far."  
"He left Kirsty home alone, Bex." Karen's voice came bluntly.  
She started to realise the severity of the situation. "Oh…god. He wouldn't go and do something like that."  
"That's what I mean." She added dimly, "Is there _anywhere_ he would've gone to?"  
"Not that I know of, no." Bex thought long and hard. "Although…there was an incident that involved him when he took us out that time."

It was quiet her mother's end. Eventually, "…I'm listening."

Bex went through everything with her about what had happened between Chris and Charlie, whose presence was _less_ than welcome that day. She told her about having to take Chris off after seeing the black eye he was given, and in how much of a daze he was in when he got back.  
"You think your _father_'s got something to do with it?"  
"Mum, he's the only _real_ enemy Chris has." She protested. "It makes sense. Where is he now if you've divorced him?"  
"Well…" There came a slight pause. "He bought our house off me. What for, I don't know…"  
"We need to _go_ there." Bex stated.

Karen picked Bex up from the mental hospital, waiting for her outside.  
She didn't know what they were going to say or do when they got to her – or rather – _Charlie's_ place.  
"I just have a bad feeling about it." Her daughter noted. "I just know he's done something to Chris."  
"Well…" Karen pulled up outside, noticing Charlie's car was parked in front of hers. "I know your father has a bit of an _aggressive_ streak, but I didn't think he'd have it in him to _kill_."  
"Y-you're not doubting me, mum…are you?"

She smiled weakly. "No, love. Although I've seen your father literally wield a _knife_, I don't think he'd go as far as actually _using_ one."  
They got to the front door, and they managed to get in effortlessly with the keys that Karen still had for the locks. "Luckily he didn't think about changing them."  
"Maybe he was waiting for you to come back?"  
She smirked playfully. "I don't think so."

Both of them got in, hearing very low yet stifled whimpers coming from the lounge.  
"That doesn't sound good." Bex noted.

"No, but it sounds like _Chris_." Karen stated. "And he doesn't sound _well_."  
They burst into the lounge, immediately noticing Charlie who was towering over Chris's small frame, the metal pole on the point of connecting with another intact part of his body.

"_What_ is this?" Karen asked, her voice dim with shock, as she saw the young male simply lying there, shuddering uncontrollably.  
"Friends of yours, Charlie?" Max turned to look at them icily.  
"N-no…they're my _family_." Charlie pointed out.

"Oh, good." The taller male stood against the wall. "They can watch."  
She rushed over to Chris, placing herself in front of him. "Whatever you've done with him…don't do it anymore."  
"Karen, just get out of the way." Charlie aggressively warned. "This has to be done."  
"What _for_?" She placed her hands on the side of his body, as his shuddering got worse. "You're _hurting_ him, how is any good going to come out of _that_?"  
"I want to do it for _us_." He stated icily. "To make sure he's out of the way and _stays_ out of the way."  
Bex carefully got her mobile out and quickly dialled for the police; she nodded to Karen slowly as if to let her know, as their glances met each other.  
"I know you won't hurt _me_, Charlie." She told him quietly. "You won't hurt me because I'm not the one you're out to get."  
"Stop playing games."  
"However much you want to _hurt_ him, it's not going to change the way I feel about him." She softly stroked Chris down his side, feeling his shudders lessen. "We're in love – we're _married_ now and we've also got a _child_ between us. Can't you see that you can't stop the bond that we have?"  
"The pair of you have been busy." Charlie snarled viciously, his eyes glinting in an unruly way.  
"We've _got_ to stop all this talking – just finish him off." Max demanded, glaring at Charlie as if to make a point. "Make it quick."  
Suddenly, the front door was knocked off its hinges, and four cops charged in; two manhandled the two antagonistic males, whilst one remained outside and the other came in.  
"Is he going to be all right?" He asked, peering down at Chris, as Bex carefully helped him to sit up. "We can always arrange for him to be taken to hospital."  
Karen shook her head. "I think a bit of TLC at home will soon sort him out."  
He smiled softly. "Well, if there's anything at all we can help with…be sure to let us know."

Karen drove Bex and Chris back to their place; both females helped him to lie down in bed.  
Karen remained with him whilst Bex soaked a cloth in warm water. "You're quite badly hurt." She softly noted, delicately tilting the young male's head back to better survey the cut at the corner of his eye.  
Bex handed her the warmly soaked cloth, and she carefully placed it over the cut at the corner of Chris's eye.  
He felt a little warm as she tenderly dabbed over it; it stung a little, but not enough to hurt.

"After this is done, we should get you to bed." Karen put to him softly, gazing into his bright blue eyes, which didn't lose their vivacity.  
Bex watched them together from her position at the bedroom's doorway; they actually looked very comfortable together. Chris was looking up into Karen's eyes with an amorous yet vacant gaze, and she continued to affectionately bathe the long cut at his eye.  
"W-where's Kirsty?" He asked after some time.

"She's staying at the mental hospital with a few of the nurses, she's fine." She assured him. "Which gives us plenty of time _alone_ together."


	132. Chapter 132

"How do you feel?" Karen withdrew the then-cool cloth from Chris's cut, which had started to heal quite nicely.

He faintly nodded. "Better."  
"Did he get you anywhere else?" She felt him around his rib area, finding nothing broken.  
He shook his head. "A-a few kicks here and there…but nothing too bad."  
She nodded, relieved. "What exactly happened?"  
"Your _ex_ paid Max to come and get me." Chris clarified, feeling slightly warm as she stroked him just off from his cut. Her touch made it tingle – in a nice way, of course.  
She frowned. "Was he the other one in the room when we came?"  
He nodded dimly. "I don't know how he got in…probably prised the window open or something."  
Karen placed her hands on his. "Well…the important thing is that you're safe now."

He gasped softly as she cupped his face with a hand. "I didn't mean it when I said that this marriage is over."  
She smiled adoringly. "I know you didn't." She inched closer to him. "I could never think you could say something like that."

Once Bex had left them and went back to the mental hospital (as it was only a five-minute walk), both of them turned their attentions to each other.  
Chris coyly looked away, finding it easier to act more normally as the trauma had been and gone. It had gone quicker than he thought. "S-so what now?"  
She smiled naughtily. "Well first of all, we should get you out of these clothes…" Two hands made their way to the few buttons on his t-shirt. "…And then we should get you into bed."  
He allowed Karen to do as she wished, which was, in effect, strip him; he felt his pulse race as her hands swiftly moved to his trousers, her grip on the button and the fly.  
"If you don't wish to _object_, of course."  
Both of them sat, nude, in front of each other; they shared a deep kiss before pulling away.  
Chris whimpered submissively as she stroked her index finger up and down the line of his spine; there were so many hot spots along his back that it was exciting him very quickly.

"Hmm…another one of your hot spots, I presume?" Karen purred, feeling him draw himself closer against her. "Well, at least I can dominate you quite easily."  
He slid himself onto her lap, his hardness gliding under her between her legs; their hips pressed together, both bodies melting into each other.

Chris begun to start a steady rhythm, moving up and down against her.  
It didn't take long for his movements to speed up.  
"A-ah…K-Karen…" He felt his muscles tingle all over as she took hold of his hips. "I-I love you…"  
"I love you too, my love." Karen wrapped her arms around his waist, stroking him down his back as he closed his eyes and purred. It was quite a cute noise coming from him – animalistic but cute.

Chris's hips drove further and further against her, the tingles reaching every other part of his body as she held him closer to her. He'd never tried being in a position like that but he found it a _huge_ turn-on. He didn't think he could access her that easily, but he was well and truly proved wrong.  
She felt him shudder against her as his excitement approached.  
"A-ah…K-Karen!" He cried out, eliciting a squeak as the muscles along his stomach and hips contracted and squeezed. This was pleasure on a whole _new_ level.

Chris relaxed against Karen, as the afterglow faded away slowly; his broad chest heaved from excitement, as they kissed deeply. "Did you not wanna do it?"  
She shook her head. "I wanted to please _you_."  
"Wish we could make _another_ baby together…" He noted faintly. He was happy with the one they already _had_, but it would've meant so much more to him if they did make one together, instead of adopting Bex's. "But there's always the question as to what if it didn't _make_ it."  
Karen nodded dimly, taking hold of his hand, allowing their fingers to intertwine. "In our own time…maybe we _will_ make another one." She placed her other hand on his back, sliding her index finger up and down the line of his lower spine softly. She felt him shudder with pleasure at the touch.  
"You know…" Chris shyly gazed to her. "You don't make it very easy for me not to feel guilty about it all."  
"Y-you feel _guilty_?" She repeated, incredulous. "_Why_?"

"Because when we make love, it's usually give and take, isn't it?"

She gazed at him softly. "But you _have_ had it rough, Chris…I just wanted to make you feel better."  
He smiled playfully. "Yeah, but making out isn't the _only_ way."  
Karen watched him slide off her lap, admiring his slender yet well-proportioned form. "I really, really _want_ you." She admitted. "You know that, don't you?"  
Chris smirked a little. "Why else would you have wanted to _marry_ me?"  
"Can I do you _again_?"  
The young male was _stunned_ at her offer. He felt exhausted from the first lot of touches she gave him. He didn't think he had it in him for another lot of sex. "I think all I want is to sleep now."  
"I understand that you're tired…but I really want you and all I want is to make love to you…" Karen cupped his face, stroking him along the lower part of his jaw line with her thumb. "You sure I can't tempt you?"  
He shook his head slowly. "Maybe tomorrow…"  
She nodded in agreement, already deciding with herself about what to do with him. "Ok…you're on."  
Chris settled down in bed, oblivious as to what she was going to try with him the next day. He obviously thought she was bluffing.  
How unfortunately unaware he was.


	133. Chapter 133

"Y-you wanted to see me?" Chris innocently peered round Karen's door during their first break; his big, bright blue eyes innocuously gazed at her.  
She smiled to herself. "Come here."  
Dutifully, he came in, closing the door behind him; he slowly approached her desk, not knowing what she was going to say. Or even _do_, for that matter.

"Take off your clothes."  
"_A-all_ of them?" He shakily asked her, noticing a knowing smile making its way across her lips.  
She nodded. "_All_ of them."  
Chris did as he was told; once he'd removed everything off his top half, he undid the belt to his trousers and then unzipped them – they slid down along his long legs, becoming a tidy heap on the floor.  
"Beautiful…" Karen remarked, her gaze catching the gloss that the sunlight had produced along his flat stomach and small yet perfectly formed hips. "Absolutely beautiful…"  
His stomach tensed as she carefully drew a hand against it. When she said she was going to have him, she wasn't kidding!  
She stripped herself, her gaze not leaving the young male's overly seductive frame once. "I think it's time we're going to have to _punish_ you."  
"_P-punish_ me?" Chris shakily repeated. "_Why_? What have I done?"  
Karen pushed him down onto the sofa. "Well…lots of things really." She softly placed a hand on his stomach, caressing his navel with her thumb. "First of all, for looking so _sexy_ the way you do right now…" She sensed him quiver a little under her. "Secondly, for turning down my offer of _sex_ last night…"  
He gasped softly as she trailed her index finger down from his navel, across the slight curve of his hip and down the inside of his thigh.  
"Hmm…I detect a trace of _pleasure_ coming from you there, Mr Mead." She taunted.

A rosy flush formed at his cheeks and his eyes softened excitably, as she cupped his face with one hand, proceeding to slide her fingertip along his lower lip.  
She slowly eased her finger into his warm mouth, his tongue automatically sliding along it. She smiled at his action, as he closed his eyes and suckled on it affectionately. If only he knew the _real_ reason why she wanted him to do that in the first place!

"I think I need to take care of the problem I've caused…" Satisfied that he'd unintentionally lubricated her enough, she withdrew from him, kissing him deeply as she did so.  
Chris submissively lay down on the sofa, with Karen sliding herself on top of him; she placed her hand in between his legs, prompting him to slide one of his legs apart for her to proceed. His flush deepened as she circled one of his buttocks with the tip of her index finger.  
"And now…" She started, enjoying the soft gasps he was producing under her. "I'm going to make this all better for you. If you'd care to…lift yourself up off the sofa a little…"  
He did as he was told, lifting his back up slightly with his hip muscles; for a male, he was incredibly supple and had a lot of strength for such a small body.  
Karen smiled seductively at him, her index finger hovering just over his tailbone. She circled the area a few times, causing him to close his eyes and relax a little more. That was what she _wanted_ him to do, for what she was going to do with him _next_.  
Chris let out a surprised squeak as he felt a small amount of pressure build up inside his body. He thrust his hips forward, unable to comprehend what was being done to him.

She enjoyed his helpless little thrusts up to her, as she worked her way in deeper, feeling the muscles she was plunging into squeeze and twitch against her touch. "Mm…you _do_ enjoy that." She taunted.

"A-ah!" Chris squeaked, strangely desiring more of what Karen was subjecting him to. "K-Karen…I-I…"

She placed her other hand on his thigh, spreading it further apart. "Feel good?"  
"T-too good…" He twisted about under her. He found himself being touched in the most unlikeliest of places, not to mention, _forbidden_.  
Her fingertip pressed into a small spot, which made him buck his hips. She buried into him deeper.  
"A-ah! K-Karen…it feels so good…how can something so naughty feel so good? Mmm…a-ah…" He was sure that the sofa he was lying on was quickly becoming wet from the sweat dripping off his body; his hips were shuddering from excitement, a sign that he wanted the touch to keep going for as long it took – even to the point of making him _go_.  
Karen felt his body tense against her touch as she hit his sweetest, deepest spot inside. Her other hand moved to the underside of his thigh, keeping his leg splayed out to the side so she gave him maximum entry.  
Chris shakily placed a hand on top of hers. "K-Karen…I-I…don't stop…"  
"So you _like_ having naughty things done to you then?" Her dark eyes teasingly put to him, loving the way he was thrusting up to her. "And there was me thinking you were such a good boy…"  
The flush at his cheeks came back again.  
She seductively smiled. "You're a _bad_ little boy, aren't you?"  
"I-I'm s-so sorry…" His eyes softly closed, as a heat built up at his lower back and to either side of his hips. This was a new feeling he _liked_.  
Karen softly swept Chris's slightly sweat-dampened bangs from his forehead. "What is it you want?"

"M-more…" He weakly persisted. "I-I wanna go…"  
"I'll _help _you to go, don't worry…" She stroked him at one deeply flushed cheek. "I'll help you to go."  
His bucks sped up as she pushed in and out of him, thrusting against his hot spot, which was driving him further and further over the edge.  
"Relax…" She reassured him. "If you feel it come, let it go."

It wasn't long before he _did_ go; he arched his back against the sofa, sweat gathering in between his shoulder blades and trailing down the line of his spine. His thrusts picked up some speed, before he gave a squeak and excitably gasped as his juices spurted out. The sunlight made it shimmer like silk – it actually looked eye-catching like that. 


	134. Chapter 134

The happy couple remained very still on the sofa; Chris lay, heavily breathing, as the muscles in his body felt weak and heavy from the pleasure clouding them.  
Karen lay partially on top of his naked frame, circling his navel with her index finger.  
"Wish we could stay like this forever…" He dimly mumbled, sensing hot tingles go to his stomach as she kept circling his navel teasingly. "Just make love to each other all the time."  
She softly smiled to herself. _That_ was something she wouldn't have minded doing with him.  
They shared a deep yet slightly shy kiss, and pulled away gently.  
"Oh well." He quipped. "We'll have to settle for _this_ for now."

Karen nestled her head against Chris's broad chest; he felt so warm and soft as she did so, and she wrapped her arms around his waist. She didn't want to let him go.

A knock came at the door.  
"Don't you think we should answer that?" Chris peered up in the direction of the knock, only to be pushed back down against the sofa by her.  
"What, and let it interrupt our time together?" She taunted, lowering her lips down onto his. "You haven't had enough _already_ have you?"  
"N-no…" He started. "But we can't exactly stay like this with the door locked."  
"Oh, so you want a bit of _exhibitionism_, now?" Karen winked. "Didn't think you were cut out for that sort of thing, Chris."  
"We should _get up_." He clarified, knowing that right then was not the time to play down what they had both been up to.  
Another knock.  
"Break finished a few minutes ago." He added. "I have to get to my next set…"  
Crestfallen, Karen knew she had to let him go. "When are you next free?"  
Chris paused as he finished dressing himself. He _was_ free within the next hour, but there was stuff he had to catch up on. The exam results – which included _Bex's_ mark – hadn't left his train of thought. "Not for some time."  
"You'll be able to come out lunchtime though, right?"  
He smiled a little. "Sure – wouldn't wanna miss _that_, would I?" He sidled up to her and snaked his arms around her waist. "Especially with my _incredibly_ sexy _wife_."

She cupped his face softly, loving the feel of his soft skin against her touch. "So where are you up for going – now that I've redeemed your pay?"  
"So lunch is on _me_, is it?" He smirked knowingly. "Should've known."  
"There are a few nice places round the corner from here." Karen suggested.  
"You mean places we haven't yet invaded?" Chris taunted. "Wow – you've been doing your homework, haven't you?"

Lunchtime soon came round.

"Everything ok?" Karen noticed Chris hadn't touched what he'd ordered. "Don't tell me you're not hungry." If so, it was probably a first for him to refuse to _eat_ anything.

"Yeah, I guess so." His big blue eyes flitted to her swiftly. "Why do you ask?" He made no attempt to cover up his sudden aversion for food. If he didn't feel like it, he didn't feel like it.

"You haven't touched your lunch." She smirked. "Unless you're waiting for me to take it off you…"  
"It's not that I don't _want_ it." He admitted. "I just can't stop thinking things over…"  
"What about?" Karen suddenly felt worried. "Is it us?"

"No, everything's _fine_ with us." Chris peered down at the table they were sitting at. How could he word what he was going to say? "I-it concerns Bex."

"She's not giving you trouble again, is she?"  
He shook his head. "I went through her last exam results."  
Her eyes widened. "Did she not do ok?"  
He shook his head. "She did _more_ than ok, Karen."  
"Was that when you were reading through them that time?" Karen assumed. "You seemed _shocked_ though."

"She's doing better than everyone else." He explained.  
"Chris, I don't know what you're getting at."  
"What I'm getting at is that it may be worth her skipping her final year – when she's allowed to take it." His big, bright blue eyes glistened a little from the dim light that had come in. "She's too good to stay any longer – another year might hold her back."  
"But you're just basing her performance on _one_ subject and not all of them." She put to him.

Chris inched further forward. "But what if she did just as well in everything else?"  
Karen shrugged. "The fact still remains that she's in a mental hospital now – permanently."  
" – When she's got good enough grades that could get her somewhere else." He flitted his gaze away. "Seems a bit of a waste, doesn't it? All that potential there and she's not going to be able to do anything _with_ it."  
"What would the hospital's stance be on her performance though?"  
"Well…maybe they don't _have_ one." He admitted. "But the fact still stands that she's not _unstable_ – not _psychologically_, anyway. And because she means a lot to both of us, I don't think I could put up with her being kept there."  
"Chris…" She placed a hand over his. "I understand your thought process and your passion for wanting to do the right thing. And you're very good at your job; I can't fault you for that. But…Bex is not going to be let out – not for quite some time anyway. I know you really care about her and love her, but by taking her out of there _again_, it might slow her recovery."  
"I know." He slowly nodded. "Just doesn't seem fair to her."  
Karen smiled weakly. "Life works out like that though, doesn't it?"  
Chris _had_ to agree with her there. He wasn't trying to come across as only thinking of _himself_; he cared _deeply_ about Bex's future, more so than anyone else's due to their link to each other. And then there was the issue of telling _her_ in person. How would she herself take it? He didn't really bear that in mind…  
"Now do you want me to finish that for you or are you going to put that away?" She teased.

After both of them had gotten back, Chris sat alone in his room, unable to get what he was reading out of his head. It just…didn't seem _fair_. At all.  
His first instinct was to tell Bex in person how well she'd done – maybe then both of them would know where they stood that way.  
But something was telling him not to and he didn't know why. It wasn't as though she wouldn't _like_ being told she did so well.

_Would _she?


	135. Chapter 135

After work that day.  
Chris happily took Kirsty from the crib the mental hospital had supplied Bex with. "So I take it she's slept well?"  
Bex smiled softly. "Like a log." She edged over to the middle of the bed so he could sit on the edge of it. "How are you and mum getting on now? Last time I left, you were both gazing amorously at each other." She winked teasingly.

"Well, we're getting on…_better_, I guess." He felt Kirsty stir in his embrace, but then settle again.  
"And you feel ok in yourself, right?" She placed a hand on Chris's arm. "After what had happened."  
"Oh." He flitted his gaze away. "Hadn't really thought about that."  
"That's a good thing though." Bex reassured him. "It means it's not bothering you."  
"I mean, what happened wasn't _pleasant_…" He noted. "…But I've had worse."  
She smiled, stroking his arm. "And it'll take a lot to finish you off."  
He coyly looked away. "W-well…I wouldn't go as far as that, Bex."  
"Getting all modest again." Her hand moved further up his arm, squeezing at the firm muscle under his jacket. "Hope it's not becoming a habit of yours."  
Chris swallowed hard at the way she was touching him. He didn't _dislike _it, but it certainly left him questioning her feelings for him. God only knew what her feelings would be like once he told her what he really _wanted_ to.  
"If only I wasn't stuck in here." Bex said to no one in particular.  
"You don't _have_ to be." The tension was _killing_ him and he couldn't hold on any longer.  
"What do you mean, I don't have to?" She flitted her gaze to him from the blankets. "Did you talk to the nurses, was that it? I knew it wouldn't take much once you'd bat your eyelashes at them, you flirt."  
His expression remained quite steady, sobering her into silence.  
"God…is what I have worse than they thought?" She suddenly assumed, feeling a little sick. "I'm going to end up in a maximum security wing now."  
Chris took hold of Bex's hands. "No, it's ok. You're safe…it's nothing to worry about."  
"Th-then what _is_ it?" She asked him dimly. "If you say it's nothing bad, why are you holding off saying it altogether?"  
"Because I don't know what you're going to make of it."  
She shook her head. "Chris, whatever it is…you can tell me."  
He paused for a few moments. "Bex, the last exam you took…"  
"I didn't do so well, did I?" She drew in a deep breath. "That's what this sort of thing does to you."  
"No, far from it. Y-you were _perfect_." His eyes glistened softly. "Almost _too_ perfect."  
Bex shrugged. "What, honestly?"  
"How honest do you want me to be?" Chris smiled a little. "You outdid everyone else in your set. You were the only one with a hundred per cent."  
"It's just a fluke, though. The time before and the time before that…"  
"But that was when you weren't well when you took those." He explained. "If you did just as well in your other sets, you might be able to skip straight to your final year."

"So in effect, you want to skip me forward a year?"  
He nodded. "If you like." He inched closer to her. "But the best part is, it could well be your ticket out of here. Well, at least taper off the amount of time you have left."

"Chris, I don't understand." Bex admitted. "Why do you care so much about all of this? I mean, I know it's your job to, but…"  
"It means a lot more than it just being my _job_, Bex." Chris clarified. "I find it soul destroying when there's someone as bright as you being kept in a place like this. Where's that potential going to go?"  
She shrugged. "When they let me out, I guess."  
"Which will be _when_ though?" He noticed her shrug again. "My point exactly."  
"B-but they have to let me out at some stage – don't they?"  
Chris didn't seem so sure. "Depends if you do as well as you have done with the counselling and helped yourself to get better." He got her to look straight into his eyes. "But what if that never happens? If they keep you here, say, forever. Maybe not forever, but for quite some time. Your performance in those sets proves that you're not as mentally disturbed as they're making you out to be."  
Bex nodded slowly. "I see your point. But what's going to happen once I do get let out?"  
"For argument's sake, you mean?" When she nodded, he flitted his gaze away from her. "That's where I'm not so sure. You would still be able to advance even further, if you wanted to."  
"Where would I go? You and mum are happy together, and I don't want to destroy that." She then thought. "Unless I stay with you…"  
"You know that's not a good idea – especially after our past relationship together." He stated.  
Bex settled further into bed. "But it makes sense though, doesn't it?"

"Sure, _perfect_ sense – if I wanted to get into _trouble_."  
"But think about it. I'd be closer to Kirsty, I'd be able to bond with her…we'd be all together."  
Chris didn't seem so sure on the idea.

"What's making you unsure about it all?"  
"It's just that your mum and I have started to get close again…I don't want anything to come between us again."  
"But I _won't_." She insisted. "I won't get in the way."  
"I don't disbelieve you, Bex…" He admitted. "But it won't last long. I know you've promised it won't happen, but it'll soon break down."  
She folded her arms across her chest. "You don't love me enough, that's why you don't want me over there."  
"Now that's not fair saying that." He stated, noticing she'd managed to swipe a razor blade from somewhere, and he knew he either had to call for help or take it off her himself. "I wanna help, but you're going to have to stay here yet take your final year's sets as of when."  
"What, all to prove to _them_ that I'm not _crazy_?" Bex shot back. "I knew that the staff here all thought alike about me – never thought _you_ would as well though."  
"Bex, I do not think that way about you." He was mentally pleading with her to at least drop her offending weapon. "Please don't go hurting yourself again."  
She shook her head. "I've got nothing to live for anymore. They took my baby off me, they want to keep me here even though I've good enough grades to take me elsewhere…I'm better off _dying_ in here, aren't I?"  
"First of all, I took your baby off you to care for her. They simply deemed you unfit to do so yourself. And you've got plenty to live for. There are people who love you, very much. Don't do this to them as well as yourself."  
"I-if you let me stay with you…I wouldn't have to go back to complete my final year and I'd get a better chance at making it somewhere else…" Her voice tailed off as he shook his head softly. "_Please_."  
"I can't do that." Chris stated apologetically. "I'm sorry."


	136. Chapter 136

"So how was she?" Karen wanted to know as soon as Chris got back to theirs with Kirsty and sat down next to her.

"She seemed ok." He decided not to tell her about the potential incident that could've come about. "She really wants to come out."

"But you did explain to her why she can't." She gazed at him fixedly. "Didn't you?"  
He nodded faintly. He _did_, sort of.  
Karen turned her attentions to Kirsty, who lay asleep on his lap. "Was she a good girl over there?"  
He smiled softly, sweeping his hand over her head. Her dark blonde hair had started to form quite nicely, even though she was still quite young. "She was _ever_ so good."  
"Can _I_ take her?" She offered.

"Sure." Chris didn't hesitate in handing her over to her. It'd give them a chance to bond, as she'd spent most of her time with him. "You want anything while I'm up?" He asked.  
She shook her head.  
"Ok. Well don't spend _too_ much time with her. She needs to sleep some more and we have to think about getting ready for tomorrow."

Later on that night.

Chris _eventually_ managed to get to bed; he got to bed half an hour later than Karen, only because he had to try and get Kirsty to sleep by herself in her own crib. "She really didn't wanna be alone in there, you know."  
She smiled softly. "She'll get used to it in time."  
"Yeah, but it certainly didn't help that you spent so much time with her." He mildly chided. "I warned you not to do that."  
Karen frowned. "I don't understand. Surely the more time we would spend with her, the better."  
"In theory, but not when she's _sleepy_." Chris pointed out. "She was over-stimulated – which takes longer for her to relax and then settle."  
She nodded dimly. "I'll try and bear that in mind."  
"Adapting to looking after a little one is going to be hard, I know." He stated. "But you've raised after three of them in the past – to you, it'd be a walk in the park. I only know bits here and there."  
Karen wrapped her arms around him. "You'll make a _good_ father to her."  
"I hope so." Chris felt his eyelids get heavy. He hadn't banked on how tiring it all was to look after a baby – to get her to _settle_, at least. He hoped he didn't have to do that every single night.

They both heard a noise not too far from them, and she leant up on her arm.

"What's that?"  
His gaze rested on a small glow coming from the nightstand. "Oh…I must've left my mobile on. That's not like me."

"Oh, so it's not like you to leave it on all day, either?" Karen teased. "Whoever it is will call you back tomorrow, Chris. You need to rest."  
"No, it could be urgent."  
"Christopher." She quickly rolled onto her side, placing her hand on top of his that had almost got hold of the mobile. "Turn it off and go to sleep."  
"Can I at least check to see who it was?"  
She nodded slowly. "If you must."

Chris _hated_ the screen being so bright, and he knew he had to get round to adjusting it; squinting through the glare, he managed to make out who it was who happened to be calling him, or at least attempted to. _Bex – 1 missed call_, it read.  
He sharply got up, realising she didn't leave him a message.  
"Chris?" Karen sat up more, as he left the room to call her back. "Where are you going?"

Chris quickly called Bex's number, worried when she wasn't answering. His stomach turned at the thought of why she didn't. She couldn't have…no.  
Karen sat up again in bed, as he hastily got dressed. "You're not going out."  
"Bex is in trouble, Karen." He explained. "She's not answering her mobile."  
"Could be just one of her little ploys at getting your attention." She settled back down, her voice slightly muffled by the bed sheets. "She's good at doing that."  
"I just find it odd that she dialled my number and when I called back pretty much straight away, she never answered." He stated. "I'm going to go over to the mental hospital…try and get them to get her to sleep. Whatever she has is making her suffer _badly_."

Chris only just managed to get outside when he noticed Bex leaning against the wall; he felt sick to his stomach even more. How did she get there? More importantly, _why_ was she there in the first place?  
"I-I wanted to see you." She shakily clarified. She sounded weak and frail. He couldn't think why.

"Ok, well you've seen me now. So I should take you back before they start getting a search party together…" He placed his hands on her shoulders, when she placed hers on top of his.

"No." She told him firmly. "I don't want to go back. I want _you_ to look after me."  
"We've already talked about this. I can't." Chris noticed Bex wasn't very steady on her feet – she seemed like she was having real trouble holding herself up. "Come on, Bex…you're tired and it's late. We need to get you back before you get sicker."  
She slid down the wall, prompting him to bend down beside her.  
That was _not_ what he needed on a Saturday night at a time when he should be asleep. He was a night person, of course, but not when the time was close enough to _midnight._

"Bex…" He realised she wasn't responding as quickly, if at all. "Stay with me…stay awake."  
Her eyes softly closed, and she curled up on the floor as she blacked out.

He slowly swept her long, blonde hair back out of her eyes, not knowing how to handle that. He was getting so tired, that it was probably better off for him to take her inside so he could get to sleep sooner. Plus, if she'd taken something…he might've been able to help with that. 


	137. Chapter 137

Karen immediately sat bolt upright, as the flat door was heard to open and then close. Chris couldn't have been back already, surely?  
She hazily got up, noticing the soft, dim light coming from outside the bedroom; she gently opened the door, standing in the doorway.

Chris had laid Bex on the sofa, sweeping his hand over her forehead. "She was outside. God only knows how long for. She's freezing cold."  
Karen slowly came closer. "W-what happened to her?"  
"I-I don't know. She didn't seem well when I first saw her." He noticed her skin had paled slightly, prompting his worst fears to surface. "I think she's hurt."  
"Will she be ok?" She needed to sleep.

He nodded. "Should be. If not, I'll have to send for a doctor." He gazed at her carefully. "Go to bed…you need to sleep. I know it's a Saturday night, but I don't want it to get later than it already is."  
"But what about you?"  
Chris turned to look at Karen more. "One of us has to stay up and look after her. And I'd rather take that up than you."  
She nodded, smiling thankfully, as she went back to bed.

He carefully unzipped Bex jacket, slipping that off her and folding it up; he proceeded to pull up one of the sleeves of her top, prompting her eyes to fly open and fix themselves on him fearfully.  
"N-no…" She weakly pleaded. "Don't…"  
"Ssh…it's ok…relax." He removed her top, sliding that off her, as he surveyed the deep cuts to her wrists.  
"Don't tell anyone." She insisted.

"Don't worry, I won't tell." Chris slowly got up, as he went to get something to stop the heavy yet avertable blood loss. "Stay there for me, ok? Don't move."  
Bex felt herself drifting off again as he wound the bandages around her wrists, ensuring they were wrapped around her tight enough. "I feel so sleepy."  
"You've lost a lot of blood."  
"W-will I get better?"  
He nodded slowly. "Once you get enough sleep."  
"Chris, I'm sorry…I didn't mean for this to happen."

"Don't worry about it." He made sure that the dressings wouldn't work loose. As far as he was concerned, what was done was done. What more could be said about it?  
She shook her head dimly in regret. "I want it to stop, but…"  
"Only you can do that, Bex." He put to her. "Staying with me isn't going to change that."  
Her eyes felt heavy, but she wanted to keep talking. "I feel safer with you though. When I'm with you, I stop hurting inside."  
Chris felt warm as Bex cupped his face with her hand. He couldn't deny he still felt something, but he knew he shouldn't. He knew _they_ shouldn't.  
But being in a compromising situation as that was making it all the more harder for him to resist.  
"Please let me stay." Her eyes pleadingly softened into his. "I'm not going to get in the way of either of you, but I feel safer with you close by."  
His attention was completely cut off when Bex came closer to him; he shakily retrieved the blanket he'd gotten for her and wrapped it over her shoulders.  
She felt warm as he kept his hands on her – it seemed like he didn't want to let her go. "You should sleep…especially if you've got work on Monday."  
He shook his head. "My responsibility is with _you_ right now. Besides, it's a Saturday night. I've got plenty of time _tomorrow_ to catch up on any sleep."  
She smiled thankfully.  
They were both sitting, facing each other, on the floor; their close proximity had built up a slight warmth between them and neither of them wanted to tear themselves away from the other.  
"S-so now…" Bex coyly looked away, realising they'd both maintained eye contact for quite a while. "What now?"  
Chris didn't seem quite sure either. "I guess you should try and sleep. That way your energy will build up again."  
She nodded dimly.  
"I'll stay with you all night and maybe tomorrow night as well." He offered. "I don't wanna leave you on your own."

She relaxed a little more as he slid his fingertips through her hair.  
"At least you've warmed up a little." He rubbed her up and down her back to get more warmth through her body. "The last thing I wanted was for you to get cold, especially when you're in a state like this."  
"I'm sorry, Chris." She faintly mumbled, feeling sleepy from his vigorous rubbing up and down her back. "I'm stopping you from sleeping."  
"It's ok if you're having trouble for one night." Chris reassured her. "Come tomorrow and you might feel better and more relaxed before you go back."  
Bex felt her eyelids get heavy, as she remained pressed up against his strong body. It became clear to her he was offering her something no one in the mental hospital could _ever_ give her, but as _if_ he felt ready to do that on a more permanent basis. He was happily married and had a baby to look after.  
"How are you feeling?" He peered down at her carefully. "Getting tired yet?"  
"A little."  
He smiled softly when he saw her eyelids flag heavily. "A _little_? I think you're a _big_ bit tired, young lady."  
Bex had gone completely weak from exhaustion and low energy as he helped her to lie down more on the sofa.  
He felt warm and fuzzy inside as he swept her hair back from her forehead, allowing it to scatter gracefully. He wanted nothing more than to look after her and keep her safe, but he knew that by doing that, he was overstepping the mark.  
She needed help _more_ so than Karen, and he was beginning to see that.  
"I'm finding it hard to drop off."  
Chris twirled his fingers in amongst a few very long bits of blonde hair. "It'll take a while as you're not feeling well. But try and relax."

"I still want to do something with my grades, Chris." She told him finally.  
"I really wanna help you." He admitted. "More than anything, that's what I want right now. I want this to happen just as much as _you_."  
"R-really?" She felt warm shocks buzz through her as he carefully reached over and wiped a stray tear from the corner of her eye. "You mean that?"  
"Why else wouldn't I?" His bright blue eyes softened dotingly. To her, it was incredible that even though it was so late at night and he hadn't slept at all, they still remained just as clear and vibrant as they did if it was during the day and he _had_ slept.  
_He must be one of those who doesn't ever sleep, _she thought to herself.

Chris stroked her through the ends of her hair. He was impressed at the condition it was in – silky and glossy with hardly any split ends. "S-so for now…is it ok if I take you back Monday as planned?"  
Bex didn't seem sure that was what she really wanted. "Can I start my final year on Monday?"  
"If you _want_." He supposed. "You _have_ done well in your current year, but I don't want you to…you know…fall behind again. And the mental hospital would need to clear it with your mum. You _are_ literally in _their_ custody at the moment, not _ours_."  
"But say for argument's sake that they _were_ ok with it…would you feel ok about it?"  
"Sure." Chris noted. "If this _is_ what you really want."  
She smiled softly. "It _is_."


	138. Chapter 138

A/N – Thanks for all reviews! Very much appreciated! W-o-w so many of them, I wasn't expecting it!  
Well, what more can I say about this? It's strange how I keep coming with more ideas for this one – plus I sort of write a basis for each chapter before filling them out on Word to include more detail LOL.  
It's funny; I could be doing my normal 8-4, Monday to Friday job and come up with things halfway through my work.  
And to be fair, I feel more comfortable writing than I do saying something. Odd, that.

Think I'll hold that thought for now. And onwards we go!

- Jo -

Chris staggered back into the bedroom, noticing Karen had already thought about going to sleep.

"How is she?" Her voice came out muffled through the bed sheets, not to mention sounding tired.  
"She's fine, she's just gone to sleep."  
"How long had she been out there for?" She knew she needed to sleep more so than him, she was the one in charge!  
"Long enough to get cold." He felt his eyelids get heavy, but he wasn't switching off as easily as he would've liked. "She was frozen through…poor girl."  
"Why did she come round?"  
Chris didn't know why Karen had suddenly come over probing. "She wanted to see me."  
"We both know that, but _why_?"  
He couldn't help but feel that she slightly felt threatened at Bex turning up unexpected like that. She wasn't staying long, what was she worrying about? "She was upset." He noticed her shaking her head in disbelief. "She doesn't feel able to talk to anyone where she is, Karen, what do you _expect_?"  
"So now you're looking after her?"  
"She's only staying for tonight and tomorrow." He clarified. "Monday morning she goes back."  
"And apart from being upset…she's fine."

Chris decided to keep Bex's slashing to himself. He nodded slowly.  
"Then come back to bed. You need to sleep."  
"That's what I don't get about you, Karen." He shot back. "You can't keep blowing hot and cold like this, it's not fair."  
She crossed her arms over her chest. "I just feel like I'm being threatened."

"What, by your own _daughter_?" He noted protectively. "She's _not well_."  
"Oh, and only _you_ can see that, of course. I do care about her, just as much as _you_ do."  
"You've got a funny way of showing that." Chris protested. "She wants _help_, she doesn't feel like she's getting that where she is."

Bex was sitting up on the sofa, stirred awake from Karen and Chris's rowing – she shakily peered up as he came in and sat down beside her. "I heard everything…"  
"Ssh…it's ok now." He soothingly stroked her through her hair. "Go back to sleep."  
"Not when you've both been _arguing_."  
Unsure of what to say to make any of it better, Chris wrapped his arms around her, pressing her against his body. "It's just a normal row, Bex…nothing more."  
Bex felt all of her weakness disappear from her as she felt herself being drawn up against his warmth. "I don't want you to split up over _me_."  
"Ssh…it's ok." He stated softly. "We've both got conflicting opinions about what's best for you, that's all. We'll come to a compromise…we _have_ to."

The pair of them remained huddled up together, both secure in each other's warmth.  
"I'm not making my illness up." She said after some time.

"I know you're not." He stroked her through her long hair at the back of her head. "And it's ok to feel like you are. I'm here to help you – we _both_ are."  
She shook her head anxiously. "Tell _her_ that."  
"Your mum's just worried." Chris stated.  
"Y-you _have_ still kept my slashing between us, haven't you?"  
He carried on with the stroking. "It'll stay that way if you promise not to do it again."  
Bex found that hard to accept. "B-but…do you not see that I have to do it?"  
"But no one is making you do it, Bex." He explained. "I know why you do it, but I'm here now. There's no reason for you to carry on with it."  
She sniffled, although felt warm as he pushed her onto his lap and rubbed her down her back.  
"You did it to make yourself feel better." It was odd how he just seemed to know. "But if you cut too deeply, it won't stop and you'll end up bleeding to death."  
"Maybe that's what I want."  
"No." Chris cupped her face with a hand. "See, now thinking and talking this way has got to stop. I'm here to stop that. And however long it takes…"  
"You can't help me."  
"…However long it takes, it'll go away."  
Bex felt weak from him saying that. It wasn't as though he was _dominating_ her, controlling what she did, but if he had any form of control over her…that wouldn't make her feel any better.  
"Because of the way you're behaving, I think we should consider applying for some short-term help as well – maybe not so much in the way of counselling, that proved to be too intense. But maybe something more supportive."  
"That on top of me doing my final year?"  
"It'll take longer, but you'll still get there. And if you sail through the other papers, you're not going to have _any_ trouble."  
She shuddered against his body, as she remained pressed up against him. "I don't want to be seen by a shrink."  
Chris stroked her down the line of her spine. "I won't allow that to happen, don't worry. But I certainly can't allow you to keep behaving and feeling like this."

"What's going on?" Karen's voice weakly came from behind them.  
"She wanted someone to talk to." Chris rubbed Bex down her back a little more, feeling her relax against him. "But you're feeling better now, aren't you?"  
She nodded dimly.

"Good girl."  
"Ok, well, come back to bed then." Karen pressed him dimly. "You need to sleep and I think _Bex_ does as well."  
He nodded before flitting his gaze back to Bex. "I'll stay with you till you fall asleep, but are you going to be able to sleep better now when I'm gone?"  
"As long as you promise you won't fight with mum again."  
Chris smiled softly. "I can't promise I won't fight with her ever again. But maybe not so tonight."  
Bex smiled a little. "Fair enough."  
He pulled her into a warm hug, their bodies pressing together. "You're a very brave girl, Bex…you're stronger than you actually _think_."  
"You guys aren't splitting up, are you?"  
"No." He stroked her through her hair again. "It'd take a lot for us to split up, especially a silly little row like that."  
"Ok."  
"Get some sleep now, ok?" His stroking remained soft and protective. "We don't wanna see you with panda eyes in the morning, do we?" 


	139. Chapter 139

Sunday morning soon came round.

Karen took ages to get out of bed; she came across Chris and Bex sitting together. A flash of envy blazed through her at their closeness.  
He peered over at her, not really that fazed by her envious glare. "You had a nice long sleep."  
She nodded slowly.  
"Mum?" Bex got up, as she came further into the room. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry."  
"What for?"  
"For having this…disease."  
She smiled a little. "You can't help what you have."  
"Bex, it's ok." Chris placed a hand on her shoulder to get her to stop. "Why don't you try and take your mind off it?"  
Once Bex had disappeared, he got up, sliding up to Karen for a morning kiss, surprised to find her playing back.  
"She's not going to try anything silly…is she?"  
He placed a finger to her lips. "Just trust her for once. She'll be fine."  
She didn't seem sure.

"Counselling isn't the answer for _everything_." He stated. "There are other ways she can block the thoughts and feelings out."  
She was worried that she didn't hear any noise coming from the bedroom, and she was convinced that Bex had done something to herself.  
"If you're _really_ that worried…" Chris got to the doorway. "…I'll check up on her."

Karen felt nervous when he didn't come back for quite some time; she felt more relaxed when he came back and sat next to her.

"See, told you she was fine."  
"She was doing something quiet, was she?"  
He nodded slowly. "Something to distract her for a little while – until she's able to block the thoughts out."

She gazed at Chris incredulously.

"What?"  
"Is it me, or do you seem to know more about what Bex has than you're letting on?"  
"Well…" He coyly looked away. "I read up a little about how to help her and ways that she can self-cope."  
Karen smiled admiringly.  
"She's one heck of a _fighter_, I'll give her that." He admitted. "It can't be easy to have something as debilitating as that yet fight back from it."  
She felt him pull her into a hug. "Did you check up on Kirsty?"  
"She's due for her first feed, I'll get that sorted now."  
She watched him get up, not wanting to let him go when she grabbed him by his wrist and pulled him back towards her. "You're such a lovely person, Chris."  
The young male managed a coy smile. "Well, I try."  
"You've done so much for me. For us." Her voice sounded protected and tender. "I don't know how we'll be able to thank you enough."  
"I don't give to receive." Chris teased. "I'll be happy knowing that _you're _happy."  
Karen admired the way he fed Kirsty; he had an arm wrapped around her and he softly glided the bottle into her mouth. She immediately latched on to it, gulping the warm milk down as though it was running out.  
"Wow…hold your horses, speedy." He teased, ready to withdraw so she could at least get her breath back or not swallow any air along with the fluids. "You're not meant to swallow it like _that_."  
A crestfallen squeak came from her, and she only grasped hold of the bottle with her hands.  
Chris had to admit, for a newborn, she had quite a death grip. Afraid of what she might've done if he refused her any more feed, he decided to let her carry on. He hoped it wasn't because he'd given her too little.  
"I thought someone like you would be having _no_ problems with a little one." Karen teased, coming over in case he needed help.

"I'm not giving her too little, am I?" He asked her, tilting his head to the then-empty bottle. "She scarfed that up in seconds."  
She shook her head. "I don't think so. But bearing in mind that she was born _premature_, maybe she needs extra to make up for it."

"But how much more should I give her?" Chris wanted to know. "I don't want it to get to the stage where I give her more and she puts on too much _weight_."  
She smiled a little. "Just give her another half. That might be enough for her."  
"You mean enough for another _hour_ before she wants more?"

Once Kirsty had been (sufficiently) fed, he sat down beside Karen, placing the newborn on his lap as she started to drift off.  
"You're ever so good with kids, do you know that?" She noted vaguely.  
"Am I?" He didn't know what to make of that comment, and simply stroked Kirsty down her back as she dozed off on him.  
Karen smiled at their closeness. "She likes sleeping on you as well."  
"She's a good little girl." Chris admitted, near enough to deciding to take her back to her crib.  
He was surprised to see Bex in bed. "Don't feel so good?"  
She shook her head dimly, as he perched himself on the edge of the bed and pressed a hand against her forehead.

"You're a bit warm, I have to admit." Because neither of them were sure what it was she'd come down with, he didn't know how to help. "What are you like with taking tablets?"  
She recoiled at the word "tablets". "Not too good."  
"You prefer _dispersible_." Chris assumed, peering down at the floor. "Unluckily for _you_, I don't have any of those. So you're going to have to take what I _have_."  
"Can't you just go out to get me some?" She pleaded. Anything to avoid taking things that looked too big to shove down her throat.  
"No, come on. Don't be so crafty. If you were sicker than this and the doctor only gave you tablets, would you _still_ refuse to take them?"  
"If they were the only ones that could help me?"  
He nodded slowly.

"I guess not."  
"Then that's settled." He got up from where he was sitting. "Now you stay there – no hiding."  
Bex _panicked_ at the thought of taking anything as solid or as big as _tablets_. But it was something she was going to have to do at some stage.

Chris reappeared with some water. "You've got a _lot_ of water here. It'll help them to go down quicker and easier."

She nodded dimly.

"These are what you're going to take." He pressed out two relatively small tablets and gave them to her. "And don't tell me they're _big_."  
She swallowed hard, placing both of them in her mouth and then downing the water in one go.  
"You sure you're scared of taking things like that?" He asked her. "Seemed to cope ok to me."  
"I just wanted it over and done with."  
He smiled softly and pressed his hand against her forehead again. "Well, hopefully they'll help you feel better soon." He seemed more worried. "You _were_ ok in here whilst your mum and I were together, weren't you?"  
Bex nodded steadily. "I was fine. Just getting on with something quiet, as you said."


	140. Chapter 140

It didn't take long for Monday morning to come.  
Chris drifted awake, feeling too relaxed to pull himself out of Karen's protected embrace; he gazed over at the time, inwardly wishing that the time wasn't what it _said_ it was and he didn't have to get up any earlier.

He went to where Bex was sleeping, which was next door, and perched himself on the edge of her bed. She hadn't woken up.

"Bex…" He placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her awake. "Time to wake up."  
She slowly opened her eyes, flitting her gaze to his bright blue eyes. "Already?"  
He smiled softly. "Afraid so."  
She shakily sat up, feeling the muscles in her body almost quit on her.  
"Have you got everything you wanna take over there?" Chris wanted to know, looking away as she got dressed.  
"Yeah…I should be ok."  
"Good."

Bex shakily got out of his car as they pulled up at the mental hospital; at first, he only wanted to make sure she got out ok, but he then made to follow her.  
"Bex, wait."  
She resignedly turned to face Chris, as he came up to her.  
"You want me to come with you?"  
She shook her head. "I'd rather go in by myself."  
"I've got a few extra minutes…traffic was quite light coming so I don't mind staying for a little bit with you…if you don't mind."  
She thought for a few seconds. Maybe a few minutes with him wouldn't be such a bad idea. She smiled and nodded softly. "Sure."

Chris followed Bex to the room where she stayed; the bed was still pretty much in its un-slept in condition and everything was still the way it was as she left it. "They haven't evicted you yet, then?" He teased a little.  
She managed a small smile, before sitting on the edge of her bed.  
Worried at how quiet she was, he hovered by her window, gazing straight at her. He frowned slightly. "Is everything ok?"  
"I guess so." Bex in part wished he could stay for longer – and make her feel better again.

"Still feeling poorly?"  
She shook her head, peering over at the crib that the staff gave to her for Kirsty to sleep in – it was still in the same place, up against the wall by the window – not far from where Chris was standing.  
"You don't seem ok."  
She felt the tears come, and she wanted them to stop; she was sure the young male had sensed she was upset and he placed himself beside her, his hands on her shoulders.  
There was no doubt in his mind that Bex was _deeply_ upset about something; for that time, all he could do was stay there with her and let her let it out.  
"I worry about Kirsty, Chris."  
"What is it that's worrying you about her?"  
She wiped the tears from her eyes, not caring if it had smudged her eyeliner. "That I won't be able to see her."  
"Bex…" Chris rubbed her down her back. "You can come over, at any time, to see her. We won't stop you…"  
"I know you wouldn't." She wept out. "But what's going to happen with her if you and mum are at _work_?"  
"We've got a babysitter for her, don't worry." He assured her. "And your mum is there to look after her till the babysitter does come over."  
"I think I want Kirsty back."  
"But if the people here aren't going to let you have her more full time…how are we going to get round that?"  
Bex shook her head. "And I want to give you guys more time as a couple."  
"But it's not a problem looking after her." Chris reassured her. "And it gives you one less thing to think about. You _did_ let us take her, in all fairness."  
"I know…but I _am_ her mum."  
"For now, try and help yourself get better." He suggested. "Your mum and I will remain as a couple, and if you want, I can get the staff here to give you some leeway to come back to school and go through your final year. With you taking any treatment here on a part-time basis as well, it'll all help to get you out."  
"Y-you want to put me through for that now?"

"W-well, yeah." He sounded surprised. "Unless…you want more time to sort yourself out."  
"No. No…I'd like to get back to it. The sooner the better."  
He nodded slowly. "Just don't overwork yourself."

Next week.

"Are you sure about this?" Karen said on her mobile. "It's not too soon, is it?"  
"I don't think so…" Chris waited in his car that was parked up outside the mental hospital. "Bex was up for starting this week, so I don't see why she'd wanna back out of it _now_."  
It was quiet her end.  
"…Karen?"  
She snapped to. "I'm sorry, I know none of this is your fault and I know you didn't force her to start back."  
"It's fine, honestly." The perkiness came back in his voice. "Don't worry your pretty head about any of this. It's all in hand."  
He hung up as Bex got into the front passenger side.

"All ready to go?"  
She nodded dimly.

"Hey…" Chris slid his fingertips through the soft ends of her shiny hair. "Relax. You'll be _fine_, I promise."  
"Chris?"  
He gazed up at her attentively.

"I'm sorry for worrying you."  
"Don't be silly. I'm here to help."

When they got to the school and all the paperwork had been sorted, Chris wanted to spend some time with Bex so as to make things extremely crystal clear between them.  
"Ok, then." He started, as she perched herself on the corner of his desk; he skimmed through her more recent results. "Just making sure I've got the right person in front of me."  
She smirked a little.  
"Seems like I _have_." He noted perkily. "First thing I _wanna_ say is that your more recent results are _perfect_. Picture perfect, at that."  
Bex nodded slowly.  
"What I _wanna_ do with you is put you straight up a grade." Chris noticed she didn't seem _that_ ok about it. "I know you're a year 11 pupil, but I feel you'd be better off in the year _12_ sets."

She swallowed hard.  
"I don't want you to think of this as me throwing you in the deep end, Bex. But you're so _quick _at learning, you might not have any trouble catching up with the others."  
"B-but if I _do_ struggle…"

He was amused at her using the word "if".  
"Y-you will help me, right?"  
He smiled softly. "Sure I will. I'm not going to treat you any differently to the others. I'm not like that. You know that anyway, don't you?"  
She nodded steadily.  
"And don't think that because you're the head's daughter I'm going to cut you any slack, missy." Chris quipped, winking as he said that. "Just because we _are_ sort of one family, that doesn't mean I'm going to favour you."


	141. Chapter 141

Surprise, surprise, Bex had a lesson with Chris; she turned up extra early as she had a free block, and so did he.  
He seemed to instinctively know she was there, and he got up to go to the door. "You don't start for another ten minutes."  
"I know…but I was bored."  
"Oh, so you're saying that whenever you're bored I'm the next best thing?" He taunted.  
"Can I come in?"  
"But you don't start yet." He _had_ to keep his distance with her – what would anyone think as they walked by and saw them chatting or being as close as they already were?  
Bex gazed at him insistently. "Please…let me stay with you till the others come in. Then I'll go straight back outside again. No one will suspect anything."  
Chris gazed around before pulling her inside his room. "You still don't understand. I don't want people finding out about our connection."  
She shrugged. "It's pretty obvious, Chris. You married my mum, what else would they think?"  
His expression didn't change. "Ok, if you're going to be in _any_ of my sets, you do not call me that. It's either _Sir_ or _Mr Mead_."  
She found it amusing when he went into work mode. "You're funny when you talk like that."  
"Bex, this is _serious_." Chris noted. "Most people don't _know_ the close relationship your mum and I have. She's even kept her maiden name the same to avoid suspicion. _That's_ how secretive we want this all to be. That's why I want you to not behave any differently towards me. Because then they'll twig."  
She nodded slowly.  
"Have you got that?"  
"Yeah, I've got that."

"Good." His gaze on her became less firm. "Go and wait outside. The others will start coming in a few minutes."

It didn't take long for Bex to feel lost.  
Chris noticed her seemingly appearing to struggle and he came over to her, perching himself on the nearest chair to her. "Struggling?"  
She nodded dimly.  
"Ok, well, don't worry. It's bound to feel overwhelming for the first few days…"  
"I've only been in here _half an hour_."  
"Which question are you stuck on?"  
She pointed to the third question with the end of her pen.  
"Just take your time with them, Bex." He reassured her loosely. "At least you actually went through the _other_ two."  
Bex shook her head, despondently.  
"You'll _get_ there." Chris placed a hand on her shoulder, in a supportive sort of way. He didn't expect her to pull away from him.

"You just don't get it, do you?" She spoke icily. "I'm _never_ going to get there. You're just going to let me fall behind – like before."  
He was quick enough to get away from her as she got her stuff together, and went to go. "You can't just walk out."

"_Watch_ me." And with that, she stormed out.  
Chris stood for a few seconds in stunned silence, before gazing up at everyone else. Most of them were getting on with it, but a few had witnessed the small spat. "Get on with your work…I'll only be a few minutes."  
He followed Bex down the corridor. "Bex, come back here."

She stopped in her tracks as he grabbed her arm and spun her round to look straight at him.  
"You do _not_ just walk out of a set like that."  
"It's hard."  
"No one is expecting you to get a hundred per cent on a paper that's aimed at people a year above you." He stated. "It _will_ be hard, but you'll get there."  
She made him let go as she pulled her arm away from him.  
"I'm not going to let you fall behind." He reassured her. "But at the same time I don't want you to get a poor grade."  
She shook her head, folding her arms across her chest and flitting her gaze away from him. "Maybe me coming back wasn't a good idea to have started with."  
"I have to admit, I admire your guts for coming back." Chris noted. "To have gone through all of that and wanna pick up from where you left off…"  
Bex felt his hand on her arm again, but it became less restrictive.  
"Not many people can do what you've just done."  
"What, walk out in front of a set of year 12s?"

He laughed a little. "Well, there _is_ that…but to come back fighting after everything you've been through – that certainly proves that you _are_ as strong as most people give you credit for."  
"I know you mean well…" She admitted. "…But you're not my father."  
"Not your _proper_ one, at least." Chris took her hands with his. "Well, no…but I'm as _good_ as your father."  
Bex peered down at the floor, only for him to place his finger under her jaw and get her to look back up at him again.  
"I still owe a duty of care to you, Bex." He stated. "I have to protect you. And I'm asking you not to walk out like that again. It'll take some time to get used to the difficulty…but within a few weeks you'll feel better about it. Ok?"  
She nodded dimly.  
"Ok. Now just between ourselves…you wanna go out somewhere after school's over?"  
Bex peered away shyly, feeling Chris's finger under her jaw again and he got her to gaze up at him a second time. "Like where?"  
"How about _I_ let you pick where to go?" He suggested. "Just you and I."  
She nodded, smiling a little more. "C-can I _hug_ you?"  
He peered around, not seeing anyone about. "I-if…you _want_."  
She wrapped her arms around his waist as he wrapped his arms around her back; she closed her eyes as he stroked her there a few times before pulling away.  
"Ok, hugging time's over now." He quipped perkily. "We'd better go back."


	142. Chapter 142

After school had finished for the day, Bex waited nervously for Chris to meet up with her; he eventually showed up and he loitered about for a few moments, so as not to let anyone see them both leaving together.  
Once the main stream of people had left, he found it easier to walk out with her.  
"Is this how it's going to be?" Bex asked him.

"For now, yeah." Chris replied. "Your mum and I _will_ tell everyone – and we mean everyone – when we feel the time's right. But right now, being inconspicuous is the best way to go about it."

She nodded dimly.

"So." He stated, pulling her up against his side for a hug. "Got somewhere in mind you wanna go?"

Both of them had been talking for quite some time.  
"Come on." Chris smirked playfully, the lights around them causing his eyes to glisten. "Are we going to sit here and talk shop?"  
Bex coyly flitted her gaze away. "Can I put something to you?"  
"Sure." He leant further forward in an attentive way. "You can talk to me about anything."  
"O-ok." She gazed at him, noticing she'd gotten his full, undivided attention. "This is going to sound strange coming from me, but…"  
"Just come out and say it – however it wants to come out."  
She nodded faintly. "I just wanted to thank you for looking after me the way you have." She saw Chris relax a little. "I've wanted nothing more than someone who could take proper care of me."  
"You know I'm only happy to do that." He smiled, taking hold of her hand with his and rubbing her softly. He frowned a little. "It was really that hard for you to say that?"  
Bex nodded. "I know I've thanked you enough times before, but I'm just really happy that you let me come round to yours whenever I want."  
"Hey…" His eyes sparkled more. "You can always spend a night or two over there if you want. Maybe all of us can stay up late one Friday or Saturday night and watch some films together."  
She smiled a little. "That's not a bad idea."  
"If you don't mind me asking…what exactly did you do to block out the thoughts you have?" Chris wanted to know. Not that he thought she was slashing herself again, but he was genuinely curious as to what she _was_ doing that day. "If it's anything I shouldn't know about, I'm apologising in advance."  
Bex smiled more. "Don't apologise, it's fine." She peered down at the table. "I was _drawing_."  
"Oh?" He tilted his head attentively. "Multi-talented as well as bright, then."

She came over coy. "I wouldn't go _that_ far. No one ever sees my pictures, I don't think they're that good."  
"_I_ wanna see them." He noted.  
She shook her head. "You won't think they're that good…"  
"Come _on_, I'm interested now." He smirked. "I'm not an art lover as such, but the fact that you _draw_ has got me."  
"O-ok." She agreed unsurely. "I just don't want you to laugh at them."  
"Would _I_ do that?" Chris winked. "I'm sure I'll _like_ them."

They both got back to the flat, realising Karen hadn't gotten back yet.  
"Don't know where your mum's gone." Chris admitted. "Unless she's working late again."  
"She's probably getting Harry his birthday present. _That_ isn't far off from now."

"O-oh." He noted. "I didn't even _realise_."  
Bex smiled a little. "That's ok, it's not your fault." She looked more pensive. "To be fair, I don't even know what he _likes_."  
"Good job _I'm_ around then, isn't it?" He quipped. "Leave that to me if your mum comes back empty-handed."  
They both went to the spare room where she was sleeping, and she pulled out a few pieces of paper that she'd used.  
"I know what I've drawn is a bit…unusual, but…"  
"B-Bex, they're _brilliant_." Chris breathed, his voice faint from amazement.  
She smiled coyly. "You sound almost impressed."  
"Y-yeah…well, I _am_." His bright blue eyes fixed on her incredulously. "You should've kept this up."  
Bex shrugged. "Well, since being in a mental place, you tend to feel like giving up on things like that, don't you?"  
"_Don't _give this up, whatever you do." He put to her persuasively.  
She flitted her gaze away modestly. She found him sweet to compliment her like that, but how much further _could_ she take it?  
"I don't mean to change the subject like this, but for Harry's birthday, we can always have a small party here." Chris suggested. "I-if he doesn't want anything elaborate."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah." His eyes sparkled a little. "We could watch some films here and maybe you and he can stay the night – provided it's on a _Friday_ or _Saturday_."  
"Aww." Bex pouted. "But what if it was on a _weeknight_?"  
"Then no sleepover, I'm afraid." He smiled at her pouting. "Nah, I'm sure we can come to some sort of agreement."

Friday afternoon.  
"Have I _got_ to come back?" Harry protested, as Karen stood in the doorway to the room he was staying in. "I was happy staying with dad."  
"But you've got _another_ dad now, haven't you?" She stated. "A _nicer_ one."  
He shook his head. "He isn't my _real_ one."  
"Harry…" She bent down to his level. "I know Jess doesn't think much of my marriage to Chris, but don't let what she says influence you. He's a _good_ person."  
"I know he is." Harry insisted. "But it doesn't change his connection with me, does it? I still see him as a _deputy head_."  
Karen nodded dimly. "I know there are some aspects of the relationship that can't be ignored, but try not to see him as just that. We're not at school right now, are we?"  
"I guess…"  
"Good." She stood back up, as Charlie came into the room. She flitted her gaze away swiftly.  
"All ready to go?" He asked stonily.

He nodded.

He turned to her slowly. "I know you've got little you want to say to me right now, but…"  
"Too _right_ I have." She made to go, as Harry went to follow her outside as the taxi pulled up. "I don't think I'll ever forgive you for what you did to Chris."  
"I was jealous." He admitted. "But I'm happy for you now."

Karen shook her head faintly. "I don't believe you. Nothing you say now will convince me to take you back."  
They both left the house, leaving Charlie on his own.


	143. Chapter 143

"Well, we're here now, love." Karen announced, paying the taxi driver as he pulled up outside the flat. "Didn't take long, did it?"  
Harry shook his head.  
"Look…I know you used to bond with Chris that well, and he thinks a lot of you. Just try and make this work, ok? Forget about what Jess has been telling you."  
"O-ok."

They both got in to the flat, and Chris and Bex were already waiting for them to come back.

"Wondered how long you were going to be." He winked perkily, sliding his arms around Karen's waist and giving her a kiss on the lips.  
"Traffic was quite heavy. Plus, the train was a little delayed."  
"Well, you're _here_ now." Another kiss. "And you've managed to bring along the most _important_ person of all." He peered down at Harry, who shyly gazed at him.

"It was a long journey." Karen admitted. "He's a bit tired."  
"Aww…well, that's too bad." Chris perkily flitted his gaze away. "That means he's probably too tired to open his _presents_."  
"No, I'm not." He perked up.  
"Thought not." A playful smirk crept across the male's lips. "Well, in _that_ case, get yourself settled." He tilted his head towards Karen, who followed him into the bedroom.  
"Everything ok?"  
"Everything's _perfect_." He assured her. "I didn't really know what he likes in the way of food, but…we could always get a takeout."  
"No, that's fine." She stated. "Harry's always been a fussy eater."  
"Ok, good." Chris went to leave. "You ok getting that?"  
She smiled softly. "Not a problem. You _did_ get everything else."

Once they'd had something, Chris took their plates off them. "So when do you guys wanna watch a film?"  
Bex sat up at the mention of watching a film. "I hope you haven't got ones that we've never heard of."  
He smirked a little. "As if I'd have anything like that."  
"Or…_X-rated_ ones?"  
"Ok, too much information." He placed the plates on the side, gazing at her in a playful sort of way. "What sort of person do you take me for, Bex Fisher?"  
She and Harry exchanged amused looks with each other.

"Well…I don't know what sort of stuff you like, so feel free to take a look."

After much fighting over what film to watch, Bex and Harry sat down on the floor together, while Chris and Karen nestled up against each other.  
"I think you're doing a very good job." She mumbled, feeling him stroke her down her back.  
"Doing a good job of _what_?" He enjoyed the way she was responding to his touch, sensing her relax into him.

"Being so good to them."  
His bright blue eyes sparkled perkily.  
"You've also been very good to _me_, Chris." Karen stroked him along his thigh. "And I'm always going to be thankful for that."  
"Mmm…something tells me you're going a little bit soft-hearted on me."  
She had ways of making him pay for teasing her like that. "I'm afraid you're a tiny bit mistaken, Mr Mead."  
Chris smirked a little at her remark, his attentions flitting to Harry and Bex, who were _both_ quite into the film. He'd seen it plenty of times, but he was sitting with others he considered to be _family_. Plus he was quite comfortable nestled up against Karen and touching her.  
She closed her eyes as she felt his moist lips pressing themselves against her neck; she found herself suppressing a pleasured gasp as his kisses trailed lower to her clavicle, which was slightly exposed under her top.  
"Feel good?"  
She nodded dimly, sliding her hand up to the back of his head, tousling his dark hair with her fingers as she scrunched it. He was tormenting her so much and she wanted it to stop!  
"We could go somewhere more private, if you want." Chris whispered sexily to her, his accent lighter.  
"Hey, public display." Bex spoke out, aware of the couple's shenanigans behind them.  
Karen gazed into the young male's eyes, as he softly placed a finger under her jaw. His eyes were sparkling with naughtiness.  
"Shall we?"  
She nodded, and they both went into the bedroom together, shutting the door behind them.

"Wow." Harry noted. "Looks like they're doing a film of their own."  
Bex giggled a little. "And they thought _I_ was the one with a dirty mind."  
He flitted his gaze back to the film.  
"You missing dad?"  
He shook his head. "Hardly." He sighed a little. "I wish I was staying here now."  
She nodded in agreement. "Chris _is_ lovely. He's like the dad I never had."  
"Things haven't been easy since mum split up from dad, you know."  
"But they're not going to be any better if she wants to get back with him, either." Bex pointed out. "Harry, you can do whatever you like here. And you can come over whenever you want."

Karen closed her eyes, as Chris twirled his tongue into her navel; he wrapped his arms around her waist, sensing her legs spread apart and wrap themselves around his back. She gasped submissively under him, as he worked sloppier kisses under her navel to her pubic bone.  
"You taste good." He peered up at her, his bright blue eyes softening from excitement. "Even better than the _cake_."  
Her hips twitched as he moved a finger into her, softly parting the sensitive flesh. She elicited a louder gasp, as he began to stroke her.  
Karen was through with the young male teasing her the way he was; through sheer willpower, she pushed him down onto the bed on his back, her hips sliding down onto his. "Let's see if _you_ like being played with like that."  
"N-no…" Chris had to cut his protest short, as she pressed her lips against the sensitive spot slightly above his navel; his stomach tensed at the sensation.  
"I think you're enjoying that."  
Her reaction from him was a small buck with his hips as she lapped her tongue upwards against the small recess.  
"Getting anxious, are we?" Karen sultrily placed a hand in between his thighs, caressing the sensitive skin. "I knew you were a bad boy really."  
"K-Karen…A-ah…"  
"You may look cute and innocent, Christopher, but you are far _from_ it underneath."  
Chris elicited a surprised squeak as her index finger softly drew circles at one of his buttocks.  
"I think we need to _punish_ you." 

Once they'd had _explosive_ fun together, they came out from the bedroom, already aware of Bex and Harry lying in front of the then finished film – asleep.

"They're tired out." Chris noted teasingly.  
Karen got a blanket and draped it over them. "Or they fell asleep from the _film_."  
"Hey." He mock protested. "My selection of films isn't _that_ bad."  
She eyed him up and down as he had his back to her; he didn't cut a bad figure from behind.  
"Are you eyeing me up?" He knew she was doing that as she'd gone quiet.  
"Might be."  
He shook his head in playful disbelief. "You've got the dirtiest mind _ever_, you know that?"  
"Or maybe it's because you're so tempting to look at."  
Chris couldn't argue with that. Nor could he argue with Karen sliding up to him and wrapping her arms around his slender waist. "I hope you're not going to distract me while I'm washing up, Mrs Mead."  
She pressed her body into his back. "Wouldn't _dream_ of it, my love."  
"Good…else I'll turn round and do _this_." He playfully flicked some water at her.  
She smiled to herself. "Thank you, Chris."  
"For what?"  
She drew in a deep breath, liking the feel of his body against hers. "For being so lovely."  
"Hey, that's my job, isn't it?" Chris noted tauntingly. "I'm here to make everything better."  
"And you do just that." Karen was sure she was going to fall asleep against him any second from then.  
"So after this is out of the way…what are you up for doing?"  
She tilted her head towards the bedroom.  
"See? I rest my case. You _are_ a dirty girl!"

After their _second_ bit of fun for that night, Karen relaxed against Chris, half on, and half off of his body as he stroked his index finger around her navel.

"Mmm…" She felt his stroking send sparks of pleasure through her. "You're so good at making love to me."  
"That's because I know what turns you on." His finger teasingly moved downwards, gently pressing it into her lower abdominal muscles. "…What buttons to push…"  
She arched her back on top of him, as he placed his other hand on her thigh, which was spread apart slightly.  
"…What hot spots to hit."  
Karen weakly slid off Chris, crestfallen that he'd gotten to her the way he did. "So Monday morning then…"  
His eyes flitted to her attentively.  
"Would you mind coming to see me first thing?"  
"What for?" He _knew_ why, but he loved playing the innocent game with her. Well, he always pulled it off quite well!  
She winked saucily. "Wait and see."


End file.
